Harry Potter and the Lunar Mysteries
by I-have-boydism
Summary: It's Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, and a girl from America has just joined Harry's class. Harry is suspicious that she is hiding something from him and the rest of the world that Voldemort seems to be after...
1. A Wolf in a Storm

AN: Hey everybody! This is my first ever fan-fic. It started out as a letter to J.K. Rowling. In the letter, I was giving her my idea for the next book. Well, the letter was growing past fifty pages and I realized, "Okay I basically just wrote the sixth book." Besides that, I grew up. Any characters or concepts not already copyrighted by J.K Rowling are copyrighted me, so please respect me and do not steal! I would appreciate it if you review at least once every chapter so my "dream" can come true. So without further ado here it is... Harry Potter and the Lunar Mysteries by I-have-Boydism.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
CHAPTER ONE  
~*~  
A Wolf in a Storm  
  
Harry Potter fell on his bed. It squeaked as his long body fell onto the overly starched sheets. He buried his face in the rough fabric and tried to cool off. It was July thirty-first and it was the hottest day sixteen- year-old Harry had ever experienced. "Of course Uncle Vernon had to cut off my air conditioning supply," he said, his words muffled by the fabric.  
  
A soft hoot came from a dark corner of Harry's room. He slowly got up; his sheets were sticking to his sweat-drenched face. The cloth silently fell to the floor as he went to cross the room. He took off his glasses and rubbed the lenses clean of the gathering fog. He opened the cage door, and let his pet owl, Hedwig, flutter to his shoulder.  
  
"Sorry that you have to be cooped up, Hedwig," he whispered to his snowy- white bird. She stretched her wings; Harry copied her movement and yawned. He looked outside at the blood red sky and purple clouds. It had been a perfect day besides the heat.  
  
He reminisced in the memories of the day, and smiled. It had been a surprisingly great birthday. His Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and his fat cousin Dudley hadn't bothered him the whole day long. He just spent his day looking at old textbooks in the silent haven he called his room. He was finally able to use the broom kit Hermione had given him a few years ago. He looked at his beautiful broom, nicely groomed and very sleek.  
  
Harry opened the windows and watched as the dark clouds loomed overhead. He noticed that a dark object was moving toward him. He jumped out of the owl's way, but not fast enough. He felt the edge of its wing brush his cheek. Hedwig flew to the floor in a stunned manor; the great-horned owl had whacked her with its wing. "Sorry, Hedwig," Harry laughed as he picked up the startled bird, and he placed her back in her cage.  
  
The visitor was waiting patiently on his bed. Harry held out his hand and the bird routinely dropped five letters into his palm. Then he untied four small parcels from its leg. As soon as Harry did this, the owl flew out the way it entered, just as quickly as it came.  
  
Harry ripped open the first envelope and flattened out the parchment. In it was a letter from Hagrid that read...  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
Happy Birthday! I hope your holiday has been great! If there is any trouble with those relatives of yours just let me no. Try to cool your temper, Harry. You started to show one last term. I'm sorry about Sirius, but he's in a better place, so keep your chin up!  
  
Hagrid  
  
Harry snorted at Hagrid's spelling mistake, and then opened a package with his name scribbled on it in Hagrid's messy penmanship. Inside was a dark red handled dagger in a sheath of the same color. Harry ran his fingers along the smooth polished grip and pulled the knife out of its covering. The blade had a design of fire engraved on it in gold. A note fell to the floor as he did this. He unfolded it and read...  
  
Harry,  
  
In Sirius's will he said that he wanted to give you his dagger. It was from his father, and he felt it should belong to you.  
  
Hagrid  
  
Harry covered the knife and placed it in a space under a loose floorboard alongside his schoolbooks, and a broken mirror, which Sirius, his godfather, had given him last year before he passed away. He then lifted the next letter, which was from his best friend, Ron. He slid his fingernail under the edge that was glued, and slowly opened it, and read,  
  
Hey Harry,  
  
Happy Birthday! Can't say much here, and of course you know why. Hope you enjoy your present. Write back please!  
  
Ron  
  
Harry found a package with "To: Harry From: Ron" next to his pillow. He opened it and found a tiny radio with wings in the box. He picked it up. On it was a tag that said,  
  
Press the red button to activate the RADFLY 1000.  
  
Harry held the tiny boom box in his hand and found a small red button under one of the metallic wings. A fuzzy rock and roll-esc song came from the speakers. Harry turned the tuning knob and the song could now be heard more clearly. The Radfly jumped out of his palm and its tiny wings began to beat. It hovered in the air silently. Harry pushed it a little ways to his left, picked up the next letter, and opened it. Written in Hermione's neat handwriting was,  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
I hope your holiday has been great. In your last letter to us you said that your relatives were treating you better, and I'm happy for you. I hope you'll be able to visit US at the house soon. Lupin has been talking about it. My parents have allowed me to stay with THEM for the rest of the summer. I hope you enjoy the Birthday present I sent you. It should help you. Professor McGonagall was kind enough to let us all use her owl to send you your letters and gifts.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Hermione  
  
Harry opened the final parcel. Inside was a watch with many keys on it. Another note from Hermione was tied to it,  
  
Harry,  
  
This is a Potions Master. It's a type of calculator that tells you the ingredients and measurements of any potion you type in. It should help you this year.  
  
Hermione  
  
Harry put the watch under the floorboard next to the dagger. He thought to himself how clever it was to be named a Potions Master and he wished his Potions professor, Snape, was like that; that he'd actually help with Harry's potion work instead of ignoring him or destroying it. He yawned and took the final letter into his hands. In green ink was written his name; the annual book list had arrived. To Harry's surprise the only new book he needed this year was The Standard Book of Spells Grade 6, by Miranda Goshawk.  
  
Harry pulled a loose sheet of parchment from his trunk at the foot of his bed and began to write a letter...  
  
Dear friends,  
  
Thank you for the gifts. It was very kind of you. Thank you Professor for lending your owl to Hermione, Ron, and Hagrid. There was no trouble from Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, or Dudley today. All in all it has been a great day. I hope I can come over there soon. I miss you all.  
  
Thanks again,  
  
Harry  
  
Harry gave the letter to Hedwig who was now preening herself. Hedwig clicked her beak and silently took the letter from Harry's hand.  
  
"Bring this to Grimmauld Place please, girl," Hedwig blinked her huge golden eyes at him and flew through the window. Harry walked to the windowsill and stared at the darkening sky. It had gone from a dark red to a light shade of purple within the half-hour. He sighed as a cool breeze ruffled his hair. The clouds had gathered closer together and the moon could not be seen. In the distance, a shadow of yet another owl could be seen. Wow that was fast, Harry thought to himself. As the owl approached, he discovered that it was the great horned owl that had visited him earlier.  
  
As it swooped through the window, a glint of red caught Harry's eye. The owl settled down on Harry's bed and attached to it's leg was not another parcel, but a small red birdcage. Inside a figure of a black bird could be seen. Harry slowly untied the little cage from the owl's leg and patted it on the head. It took off as soon as Harry's hand fell from its crest.  
  
Harry found the tag, which read,  
  
Harry,  
  
Sorry I forgot to send this to you earlier. This is my present to you. It's called an ebon. It's a newly discovered magical creature that's a relative of the Fenix. All we know about this little bugger is that he can only be caged by a ruby prison.  
  
Hope you enjoy him!  
  
Hagrid  
  
Harry glanced at the coal-colored bird. It was about the size of a raven, and had extremely long and sharp talons. Its feathers were sleek and the tip of the wings ended in a point. A tuft of feathers just as sleek was on its head and they gathered to a point too. The bird's pupils were snake- like and the whole eye was blood red.  
  
Harry stuck his finger through the bars and attempted to pet it. The bird opened its mouth and hissed revealing nine sharp teeth. He retracted his finger and set the ruby cage on his trunk.  
  
Harry threw himself onto his bed and took off his glasses. He thought about his mysterious bird and how he was going to pay for it. He then thought of Sirius falling behind that damned veil. While thinking to himself, he slowly drifted off to sleep.  
  
Harry found himself walking on the wooden deck of a boat. The rain slapped him on the face as he walked towards the ship's cabin. The smell of salt plagued Harry's nose, as he continued to inch forward.  
  
"Get your stuff and leave, Selene," a man with an American accent shouted. "We'll hold him off so you can go!" Harry glared at the man leaning over the rail of the top deck.  
  
"Don't worry about us, dear," a young woman called.  
  
Harry had reached the cabin. He reached out a spider-like hand and turned the doorknob. He saw a girl in front of him; she was stuffing a suitcase with all of her belongings. Her back was to him, and Harry took advantage of this. She slammed her travelling case shut and stood up. Lightning flashed behind them illuminating his ghostly white hand as he grabbed her around her neck. She screamed. Harry dragged her out of the musty room to the center of the deck.  
  
Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it to her temple. A rumble of thunder rolled across the sea. "Tell me," Harry shouted to the man and the woman, "or she dies."  
  
"Let her go, Voldemort," the man shouted back, "She knows nothing! Expell- "  
  
"Avada Kadavra!" Harry yelled as he turned his wand upon the man.  
  
"Bade!" the woman screamed.  
  
"Daddy," the girl whispered.  
  
"Mrs. Artemis," Harry's lips moved without his will as the words poured out of his lips. "Tell me or-argh!"  
  
A sharp pain shot through his hand. He looked down to see a white wolf scamper away from him. "No matter," muttered Harry.  
  
"Grab that woman and restrain her!" Four men dressed in black cloaks suddenly appeared at the woman's side and they grasped her arms and shoulder tightly. They brought her to Harry.  
  
Harry glared at the woman and said, "Auror, tell me how to survive as long as the moon."  
  
"I don't know," she replied.  
  
"Liar!" Harry moved in closer. He stared into her eyes, and in the reflection he saw a snake-like face looking back at him. "Tell me," he said again, "or I will track your daughter down and treat her to a slow and painful death." The sound of a broom in flight was hardly audible through the storm.  
  
Another clap of thunder sounded. "All I say is this; be the moon." In a low whisper she said, "You'll never find her." Just then the woman wrenched her hand free of the Death Eaters' grip, pointed her wand to her throat, grinned, and shouted "Avada Kadavra!"  
  
Harry sat up in bed. He was shaking from head to toe, and was drenched in sweat. He grabbed his scar that was now searing in pain. Harry clutched his forehead and grimaced. He punched the wall next to his bed. The paint cracked.  
  
"He's angry, he just lost a huge opportunity..." 


	2. The Return to Grimmauld Place

CHAPTER TWO  
~*~  
The Return to Grimmauld Place  
  
Harry stood up from his bed. The Radfly 1000 was still playing; Harry walked over to it, and turned it off. He snatched it from the air seconds before it hit the hard wooden floor. As he turned to walk back to his bed, he noticed that there was a puddle of water in the center of his room. He looked to the left of himself and he noticed that he had forgotten to close the window. He shut it and traveled to his trunk. He set the Radfly on it, and he sat down on his bed.  
  
He pressed his head against the cool wall above his headboard. He closed his eyes, and imagined that the darkness inside of his eyelids was a calm white. He cleared his head of all the thoughts going through it. Who was that girl? Why did Voldemort kill her family? What did Voldemort want to know?  
  
Harry pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes. He had to relax. He didn't want to be sucked back into Voldemort's head. He didn't want to be angry anymore; he wanted his own feelings when he wanted them. Harry hated this curse. He cleared his head completely and drifted off to another sleeping spell, one without the dreams of hate and destruction; he dreamed of nothing.  
  
~*~  
  
Harry woke up. It seemed to him that only seconds before he had fallen asleep. He pushed himself out of bed and headed downstairs. Aunt Petunia was at the stove, a sour look was on her face. She brought the pan from the fire and set it on the table. Uncle Vernon reached across the table and snatched a piece of bacon with his fork. Dudley, on the other hand, had a look similar to his mother's on his face. Another diet, Harry thought. His cousin Dudley was huge; he was about the size of a baby elephant, but he had the features of a pig. He would eat anything any time, his eyes were watery, like his father's, and his nose looked almost like a snout of a suckling.  
  
Harry sat down and quietly asked, "Aunt Petunia, may I please have a rice cake and peanut butter?" His aunt tossed a rice cake and a jar at him. Harry silently spread the brown paste over the disk. Dudley let out a shriek. Harry wondered what he had done, but his aunt was the one that made his cousin squeal; she had just placed an apple in front of her son.  
  
"What the bloody-"  
  
"Not in front of a lady son," Uncle Vernon corrected, "it's not polite."  
  
Uncle Vernon was surprisingly docile to Harry. Maybe he got a promotion, he thought. Uncle Vernon leaned over to Harry and said, "Another ruddy owl came today, and a letter came with it, says you're going somewhere for the rest of the summer."  
  
"Give it to me," Harry said, his voice was filled with happiness. He was finally going to see his friends again.  
  
Uncle Vernon handed the card to Harry. In gold letters it read,  
  
In remembrance of our beloved friend, Sirius Black, there will be a Memorial Service in his honor today.  
  
Harry took a bite of his breakfast, the peanut butter suck to the roof of his mouth. He flipped the card over and in small black handwriting it said,  
  
Harry,  
  
This card is a Portkey. It leaves at three o'clock. Get your things together, and hold on to them so that you can move into Grimmauld Place for the rest of the holiday. You are speaking at this service, so get some material together for reciting.  
  
Remus Lupin  
  
Harry looked at his watch; it was ten o'clock. "I'm going to go pack," he announced to the Dursleys. "I won't be back until next year." Harry shoved the rest of his rice cake into his mouth and he ran up the stairs, card in hand.  
  
When he got upstairs, Harry dove for the loose floorboard and ripped the plank away revealing his stash of things important to him. He carefully removed the broken shards of glass and wrapped them in a piece of parchment along with the frame of the mirror. He grabbed the Potions Master, his Invisibility Cloak, the Marauder's Map, his photo album, and his schoolbooks. He gently placed the mirror at the bottom of his trunk, and put his books in next, followed by the photo album and the Potions Master. He picked up the Radfly which had fallen to the floor and tossed it in his trunk. He placed his pewter cauldron carefully into the wooden chest, he put the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders' Map in it, and he ran to his closet. He grabbed some jeans, his school robes and some shirts; he put the jeans in the cauldron and the rest he placed next to it. He found his dress robes and laid them on his bed.  
  
Harry pulled his bag from the bottom of his trunk and took out his eagle feather quill, some ink, and a piece of parchment. He started to write.  
  
About an hour passed, Harry's parchment was filling up fast. He glanced at his watch, it was twelve thirty. He looked at his emerald green dress robes; they were dusty and dirty from not being used in two years.  
  
He thought. Harry dared himself to do something that he had never dared before.  
  
Harry carried the robes down the stairs and crossed the parlor to where Aunt Petunia was sitting. "Aunt Petunia?"  
  
"Hmm?" she looked up from her paper and stared at the clothing in Harry's arms.  
  
"Aunt Petunia," Harry said again, "Do you mind washing and ironing this for me?"  
  
His aunt was fixed on the robes, "Where did you get that beautiful cloth?"  
  
"I bought it from a store for wizard and witch clothing."  
  
"Oh," Aunt Petunia pursed her lips. "Sure."  
  
Harry was shocked at her reply, "Really?"  
  
Aunt Petunia looked at Harry straight in the eye, "On one condition," Harry suddenly became nervous, "If you send me some cloth like that for Christmas, I'll wash it and iron it for you."  
  
"S-sure," Harry was surprised at Aunt Petunia's generosity. "I promise that I'll send you some. Thank you."  
  
Aunt Petunia took the robes from Harry and he watched as her bony body carried them to the laundry room. His aunt was never that nice. Maybe she's just like that when Uncle Vernon's around, Harry thought.  
  
Half an hour before three, Aunt Petunia brought the robes to Harry's room. She also had with her a jar of hair gel. "I saw that card," she said to Harry, "Wasn't Sirius Black that man that escaped from prison a few years ago?"  
  
Harry looked up from his speech that he was going over, "Yes he was, but he was also-"Harry stopped. How was he supposed to tell his aunt about his relation to Sirius? Just tell her, he told himself. "Sirius was my godfather. He was wrongly accused, and he was a close friend."  
  
Aunt Petunia stared at Harry, "I'm sorry for your loss." She handed the items to him and left the room.  
  
Harry pulled his robe on and went into the bathroom. He looked at his reflection, and unscrewed the cap to the hair gel. "I doubt this will do any good," his image said to him. Harry dipped his fingers into the cold jelly and applied some to his hair. He took a comb and slicked it back; Harry did not like the look this gave him at all, and as if his hair heard him, it sprang back to its natural position. "Oh well." Harry put the cap back on and left the tiny pink room.  
  
He looked at his watch, fifteen minutes left. Harry threw the rest of his things into his trunk. He shoved his wand in his pocket and grabbed Hedwig's and the ebon's cages.  
  
He took the invitation and his speech into his hand and stared at his watch. Ten minutes. He quickly ran downstairs and grabbed some rope from the cupboard under the stairs. After practically jumping up the stairs he tied the birds' cages, his broom, and his trunk together. He shouted "I'm leaving!" and closed his bedroom door. He held onto a handle of his trunk and the parchments as tightly as he could.  
  
He again looked at his watch, three... two... one. Harry felt as if something was pulling him from behind the naval. His hair whipped around, and his robes flapped in the wind. Harry gripped his things even tighter than before, afraid that he might loose them. Then it all came to a stop. Harry was standing in front of number twelve Grimmauld Place.  
  
The door opened and Remus Lupin came running out. His brown hair had small streaks of silver in it, and his young face had the signs of aging, an astonishing feat to accomplish. "Hello, Harry," he said warmly as he grabbed Harry's belongings. "Glad you could make it! Why don't you go around back? I'll take your things."  
  
Harry nodded and went around the old house. The building looked as if it could fall apart at any minute. Harry was amazed at how beautiful the back yard was compared to the front. A lush garden surrounded the place. Flowers of many colors were planted in small rows and served as borders for the lot. In the center of the yard was a podium, and in front of it was a plaque with a picture of Sirius on it. Under the picture it read,  
  
In loving memory of Sirius Black... Relative and Friend... Who risked his life for his allies.  
  
In front of the podium were rows of chairs. Harry sat in a chair next to the aisle in the front row. He was the only one there at the time; he looked at his speech again. Butterflies began forming in the pit of his stomach, and he did not like it.  
  
The chairs started to lose vacancy. Harry watched as the Weasleys came out of the house, Hermione was with them. Other members of the Order of the Phoenix came out of the building soon after. Members of the school staff, including Hagrid, appeared around the corner of the house. With a pop, Professor Albus Dumbledore Apparated in the seat next to Harry. "Good afternoon, Harry," he said.  
  
"Hello, Professor."  
  
Three chairs on the other side of the aisle were still vacant. Who could be missing? Harry glanced over his shoulder; everyone that he could think of that would be invited was present. A minute later a girl in black robes silently sat in the seat opposite Harry.  
  
She had dirty-blonde hair that ended just below the shoulder, the layers and waves swayed in the gentle breeze, and one lone strand of hair stayed in front of her face. She shivered as yet another breath of wind played with her hair. A black choker resided around her neck. Harry felt that she knew her some how, she seemed very familiar.  
  
Dumbledore stood up and walked over to the podium. He conjured a wreath of flowers and placed it around the plaque. "Today we are gathered here to share our memories of our dear friend Sirius Black..." The old wizard began his speech. Harry couldn't listen; his ears seemed to have shut off. His eyes strayed from the half moon glasses to the plaque. The engraved figure stared back at Harry, a goofy smile just like Sirius's was on its face. Harry stared at his hands for the rest of Dumbledore's speech.  
  
Harry was snapped out of his trance when Dumbledore invited him to speak. Harry stood up and inched his way toward the podium. His paper shook in his hands as he began to speak.  
  
"Er, I, I didn't exactly write a speech. I-I wrote a poem instead," he search the crowed for approval. His eyes locked with the girl in the front row. She nodded at him and he read,  
  
"A pane of glass,  
  
A breath of air becomes fog on the frozen window of time.  
  
You trace your fingers on the cool hard pane,  
  
And leave an imprint on life...  
  
The fog slowly recedes  
  
And all that is left is a streak of oil,  
  
Your imprint...  
  
A small representation of your mark on the world;  
  
You.  
  
Cleaners and others' hands will smudge the mark,  
  
But when light shines through it  
  
You can still see your symbol,  
  
It has scarred the glass;  
  
No one can erase it.  
  
Life  
  
Is like that in a way...  
  
Your legacy is left behind  
  
And others' lives are affected by it.  
  
Some other people's marks will overlap yours.  
  
Your memory can be forgotten...  
  
But when some one traces their finger on that old pane or shed light on a flicker of a  
  
Remnant  
  
Of your past...  
  
It can be seen by all,  
  
Or only by  
  
One."  
  
Harry looked up; his eyes met the girl's yet again. She smiled. Mrs. Weasley let out a wail of sorrow. Harry looked at her and she wiped her nose with her handkerchief. He returned to his seat and the girl got up. She took up the stance Harry had just left. She looked at Harry; her grey-blue eyes startled him, as he received the full intensity of her view.  
  
"Hello. My name is Selene Artemis." Harry then realized why she looked familiar; he, no, Voldemort killed her parents last night, and Harry had witnessed it. "I have known Sirius for three years. He would talk to my parents and me through Floo powder after he escaped Azkaban.  
  
"He was a sweet guy, who always made me smile. He was brave, and he would have appreciated what we're doing today." Selene stopped talking and she drew her choker from her neck. She took out her wand and touched the gem on the ribbon with it. The stone was half white and half navy.  
  
She then said, "Bade and Chaundra Artemis, would you like to speak?" Harry was confused by her actions, but he continued to watch her. He noticed that she had an accent. He concluded that it was American, just like her father's.  
  
Selene slowly pulled the tip of her wand from her choker. Two glistening white strands were attached to it. She dragged the wisps higher into the air. The strands began to grow until they took the shape of a man and a woman.  
  
The man had dark brown hair with small silver strands running through it, a beard, and a strand of hair fell in front of his face just like Selene. He had happy grey-blue eyes that were fixed on Selene's face.  
  
The woman was slightly shorter than Selene, had dirty-blonde hair, and her face resembled Selene's in many a way. Harry's scar gave him a prick of pain, when the woman's eyes met his. He felt guilty that he knew how these people had died.  
  
"Sirius had a great sense of humor," the man started. "He was confident and strong-willed..."  
  
Harry's eyes traveled from the man to Selene, whose eyes were focused on the wood of the podium. She flinched as the ghost of her father wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Harry's attention and eyes were fixed on Selene. Does she know how her mother died?  
  
The woman began to talk. "He was always having fun..." Now she sounds like a native thought Harry. "We'll really miss him," she concluded. Harry again had not concentrated on the speech being given.  
  
The man gave Selene a wink, and the couple disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Selene put her necklace back on, and she solemnly walked back to her seat.  
  
Other people spoke; Hagrid just bawled. Harry did not pay much attention the whole ceremony. He just thought about Selene. How did her parents know Sirius? Should I tell her about her mother?  
  
Lupin was the final person to speak. After his speech he invited everyone in for snacks and socialization. Harry was happy; he was finally someplace he wanted to be.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
AN: Sorry for breaking up the story with another Author's Note, but I just wanted to state my Copyright for that poem. It is my work, and I'd appreciate it if you don't steal it or copy any line of it, same with the rest of the story. Any questions then contact me, otherwise enjoy my fan fic! 


	3. The Plates over the Mantle

CHAPTER THREE  
~*~  
The Plates over the Mantle  
  
Lupin led the party of attendees around the ancient house that Harry suddenly remembered was not there last year, and through the front door. Harry had to shield his eyes from the light coming from the chandeliers. When his eyes adjusted his jaw dropped; there were no cobwebs in sight, and the floors sparkled out of the corner of Harry's eye. But there was carpeting here last year! I swear it, he thought. The walls were clean and there were no elf heads in sight, a relief to Harry; he could not stand the sight of those rotting heads.  
  
They filed into the parlor where Harry and his friends waited for the news of Mr. Weasley's status after he was attacked by a snake a year before. An array of smell barraged Harry's nose, two tables were covered in refreshments. Mounds of chocolate frogs and pastries covered the platters, biscuits littered the table and huge pots of fondue of both cheese and chocolate were at the ends of each table. Fruit and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans filled huge silver basins. Pumpkin juice and butterbeer were in buckets of ice under the tables. Harry felt a warm feeling as he sat down in a new chair by the fireplace, the feeling of belonging.  
  
Professor McGonagall walked up to Harry. She sat down in a chair opposite of him, and handed him an envelope. "Harry, I have some good news for you."  
  
Harry opened the envelope. Confetti sprung out of the card and became stuck in his hair. He read,  
  
Harry,  
  
Congratulations! You have passed all of your O.W.L. exams! You will be in every N.E.W.T. class you need in order to become an Auror!  
  
Professor McGonagall  
  
Harry smiled. He could pursue the profession he wanted. She stood up and patted him on his head. "Good luck!" Before she could leave, Harry called her.  
  
"Professor?"  
  
"Yes, Potter?"  
  
"How come we can see Grimmauld Place now, but last year the only thing we could see was a door?"  
  
"Last year, Harry, we put a charm on this house. The charm worked like this, Muggles could see this house, but wizards and witches couldn't. Now because we placed another charm on the Portkeys, anyone who attended the service today can see this house. Understand?"  
  
She left before Harry could answer. Ron replaced McGonagall in the seat across from Harry. He was holding a plate piled high with sweets. He tossed Harry one of two bottles of butterbeer that were in his hand. Hermione sat beside Ron's chair on the floor, "It's good to have you back, Harry," she said and then she took a sip of her pumpkin juice.  
  
"Did you hear Snape's speech?" Ron asked in between mouthfuls of creampuff.  
  
"Snape is here?" Harry's face contorted into a look of surprise.  
  
Hermione and Ron exchanged looks. "Where was your head?" Hermione demanded. "He spoke right after that girl."  
  
"Yeah," Ron confirmed. "Do you know her? 'Cause you were staring at her the whole time."  
  
Harry opened his mouth to speak when he caught a glimpse of the girl out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"Well," he said, "I had a dream of her, but I'll tell you about it later. Who cleaned the house? It looks great!" he quickly added in an attempt to break the tension. It worked.  
  
"Mum has been going at it since we got here," Ron began. "She changed the carpet into wood flooring and she put a spell on the walls to have a fresh coat of paint that will never crack or get dirty. Too bad she hasn't done that to the Burrow." Ron shoveled a couple more pastries into his mouth.  
  
"Well, Harry, it wasn't all of Mrs. Weasley's work. That girl, Selene right?" Harry nodded and Hermione continued, "She came in really late last night. I heard her talking to Lupin, but I didn't hear what. Anyway, she helped Mrs. Weasley get the house one hundred percent clean before dawn. I do remember her saying that she was going to clean the upstairs rooms." Before she could continue on, two loud pops sounded in the air in front of them. Ron's twin brothers, Fred and George, were now standing in the middle of the trio's group.  
  
"Who was that bird?" Fred asked.  
  
"She sure was a looker," George replied.  
  
"Are you lashed up? How could you be so indifferent to her? Ugh! I'll never understand men!" Hermione got up and stomped up the stairs.  
  
"What a loony girl! We were just acknowledging her good looks," George protested.  
  
"She's up in knots for no reason! Women, I don't think we'll ever understand them," Fred replied, and with that the two Disapparated.  
  
Hours passed by, and the amount of guests dwindled. Ron and Harry played a couple of rounds of Wizard's Chess and headed to their rooms to get changed out of their robes. When Harry stepped into his room the lights automatically turned on. His jaw dropped as he looked at his neatly arranged belongings, and scanned the room. The portrait that hung on the wall was covered with a black velvet cloth and the walls smelled of fresh paint. His bed was adorned with clean cotton sheets, and there was no sign of dust to be seen. Harry closed the door behind him and pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt. He left the room and traveled down the stairs and into the basement, the lights shutting off behind him.  
  
Harry heard Hermione say, "-and they called you a looker and a bird!"  
  
"Hermione, I don't think they meant it as an insult!"  
  
He stepped onto the hard stone floor of the cellar and an echo, an unusually loud one, made the two young ladies at the stove turn around. "Er... hello?"  
  
"Hi, Harry," Hermione replied to his feeble greeting. "This is Selene."  
  
Harry crossed the room and shook her outstretched hand, "A pleasure to meet you, Selene," he said.  
  
"It's nice to meet you too," she replied. She was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with "Aidanadolfor" written in blue printed on it. Her hair was tied back into a messy bun, but the same strand of hair was present in front of her face. "You want to help us set the table for dinner? Mrs. Weasley went somewhere and left us in charge of dinner preps."  
  
Harry replied, "Sure." Selene handed him a stack of dishes and told him to set the places according to what name was printed on the plate. Harry stared at the golden letters and placed all of the Weasleys' plates first. They took up almost a whole side of the table. "Let's see, Mr. then Mrs., then Fred and George then Ginny and finally Ron. Then I'll sit next to Ron and then Hermione on my other side." Harry placed the rest of the plates down in no specific order from then on.  
  
Hermione pulled on a rope that was hanging from the ceiling, and minutes later wizards and witches began to gather at the table. The Weasleys took their seats and the other guests were climbing over each other to see which plate had their name on it, but Mrs. Weasley still was not present in the room. Tonks grabbed the end seat then Lupin sat next to her, Mad Eye Moody wobbled to a chair one seat down from Lupin's. Mundungus Fletcher slid into the seat next to Moody and the last three seats remained vacant.  
  
Harry watched as Selene looked at the plates in front of the empty chairs. He continued to follow her with his eyes as she silently picked them up and carried them to the counter. She opened a cabinet door and pulled out some nails, a couple of hooks and a hammer. Selene walked over to the wall, stopped, and turned to face the folk gathered around the table. She put the items back on the counter and went to a box in a dark corner of the room. She pulled out a large golden brown turkey and carried it to the table. "Sorry about that," she said as she gently placed the dish in the center of the table.  
  
"Hermione, could you please help me?" Hermione stood up from her seat adjacent to Harry's and walked to Selene. They both crept to the corner and carried out mashed potatoes and gravy, ham, vegetables, mugs of butterbeer, and a huge tureen of soup.  
  
"I hope you enjoy it," Selene said as Hermione took her seat. "Go ahead and help yourselves, I'll be there in a minute. Harry continued to watch her as she glided to the counter, collected the tools and plates, and went up the stone steps. Everyone began to talk at once as soon as she left, but Harry sat silent for a couple of minutes until Ron punched him in the arm and told him to eat.  
  
Minutes later Selene slipped into the chair opposite of Harry's, next to Lupin. She quietly ate her food that Lupin had hurriedly spooned onto her plate when she was gone.  
  
Harry put a spoonful of the mashed potatoes into his mouth. The warm garlicky mush seemed to melt in his mouth, and the taste of butter danced on his tongue. He took another bite and gravy swirled against his palate, it was heaven for his taste buds, in his opinion it was better than the food prepared at Hogwarts. He silently cut his turkey and ate a piece. The juice made him smile the cooked bird was tender and made him feel as though he needed another bite as if his life depended on it. He took a swig of butterbeer and tried to start a conversation.  
  
"So Selene," Selene's head jerked her face from its down-facing position and looked at Harry. "Er, do you play Quidditch?"  
  
"Yeah, actually my dad was on the American Quidditch team. He taught me all of the positions so that I could make my house team at school."  
  
"No wonder where I heard your name before!" Ron exclaimed. "That man did look familiar. What was he?"  
  
"He was a Chaser, but usually he'd have to be the Seeker because the signed one was very accident prone. They did have other people play as a Chaser for my dad."  
  
"What did your mother do?" Hermione asked.  
  
"She was an Auror. That was how my parents met actually; they both went to the same Auror School, but my dad dropped out to play Quidditch. My mom was the referee during certain games and for practices."  
  
Lupin joined in the conversation then, "I remember one game that your mother played in when she was at Hogwarts. She was the Gryffindor Keeper, and in the last game against Slytherin of our seventh year, she blocked every single attempt at a goal. Harry, your father did great in that game too. He scored almost all of the goals, but she pulled off this amazing block; she jumped, no, dove off of her broom, grabbed the Quaffle, and was able to summon her broom just before she hit the ground. You see Chaundra was circling above the posts because the Seeker was delirious from being hit in the head with a Bludger, and she was trying to help him find it."  
  
The door at the top of the stairs squeaked; Harry jumped and turned around to find Mrs. Weasley carrying a huge cake into the room. She walked over to the table and flicked her wand which she was carrying between her middle and forefingers. The plates moved themselves in order to make room for the giant pastry. She put it down in the center of the table.  
  
"Everyone done with dinner?" she asked. Energetic nods came from the men and women sitting around the table. Mrs. Weasley flicked her wand again and the dishes floated their way into the sink and the trays of food placed themselves in the box in the corner of the room. "Happy Birthday Selene and Harry!"  
  
"That can't be right," Selene protested, "It can't be August first already!"  
  
"We're in different time zones, dear," she replied.  
  
"Well, that explains why I'm so tired!"  
  
Mrs. Weasley handed generously sized pieces of cake after Harry and Selene blew out the sixteen candles together.  
  
After everyone had finished their cake, Moody's gruff voice said, "So Selene, how about you tell us some more about your past? I know I would like to hear about it."  
  
Harry looked at Selene to see her reaction. "Sure, how about we go into the living, er, drawing room and I'll tell you and anyone else that wants to hear all about it?"  
  
Moody grunted and Selene stood up, so did Harry and the rest of the company, but Mrs. Weasley staid behind.  
  
They filed out of the stairwell and into the drawing room. All of the tables and refreshments from the party had vanished. Harry caught a glint of gold in his eye; he turned and looked at the fireplace. Hanging from the wall above the mantle were three plates, the plate on the lower left said, "Bade," the plate opposite of it said, "Chaundra," and in the center higher than the two hung the third plate with "Sirius," written across it. 


	4. Past Revealed

CHAPTER FOUR  
~*~  
Past Revealed  
  
Harry sunk into one of the velvet armchairs by the fireplace, his head still facing the porcelain saucers on the wall. He slowly moved his gaze from the plates and stared at the wall in front of him where shards of light danced on it. He continued his gaze, mesmerized by the colors of the light from the setting sun floating in different directions.  
  
"I'll start by talking about my mom." Harry was jerked out of his trance as these words suddenly reached his ears. He fixed his eyes on Selene as she continued, "My mom is a native of England. When she was eleven she began her education in magic at Hogwarts. She was in the same house and year as the Marauders, as she called them." Harry saw her wink in Lupin's direction, who was leaning on the back of the sofa on the other side of the room.  
  
"Her best friend was Lily Potter. My mom was the connection between the boys and the girls because, well, she was accepted by both. She was a tomboy if you will, and was the female Marauder. Always around them and pulling pranks, but she knew when enough was enough. And even though she was one of Remus's closest friends, she didn't find out about his being a werewolf until the end of her seventh year.  
  
"As I said at dinner, after she graduated she went to Auror School in America where she met my dad. My dad made the Sweetwater All Stars as Chaser and dropped out of school. After she graduated from that, they got married and moved to a nice home.  
  
"Soon after I was born, my parents began a small business, I guess. They began helping werewolves, and when I was old enough, I helped them help the werewolves by making potions and painkillers.  
  
"When I was eleven I was accepted into Griffonwings Academy of Magic. In my third year I became Seeker for my house team, Aidanadolfor. We Quidditch players were shunned and hated by the other students."  
  
"How could anyone hate Quidditch?" Ron asked. Harry looked at him out of the corner of his eye as Selene answered.  
  
"They hated Quidditch because in America, most people like Quadpot. I think it's a stupid game, but my classmates were angry at us because our games took up 'valuable Quadpot time.'" As she said this she made gestures with her fingers to mock he importance of Quadpot. "Quadpot is like a game of Hot Potato on brooms. Eleven people throw a ball that'll explode at any moment to each other attempting to get it into a pot at the end of the field. If it explodes in your hands, you're out." The twins exchanged grins.  
  
"Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, third year. I mastered Animagism that year; the whole Artemis line has consisted of Animagi."  
  
"Can you show us?" Ginny chirped.  
  
"If I must." She said playfully. Harry watched as Selene transformed into a beautiful white wolf with a black feature circling her neck that ended with a marking shaped like the jewel on her choker. Her grey-blue eyes had stayed with her in her animal form. After leaping back onto her chair she changed back into her teenage girl self.  
  
"You see," she continued, "my third year was my best and worst year. I had mastered Animagism and had gotten onto the Quidditch team, but one night my father's life was changed.  
  
"My father and I were out running during a full moon that summer. It had just stopped raining and the sky was pitch black so we had to smell our way in the dark. We found a werewolf in a clump of bushes and we stopped to approach it. About ten feet away from it we untransformed, and Dad shouted to it, asking if it had taken Wolfsbane. It nodded so my dad and I moved in closer. The clouds decided to part just then, and our faces were illuminated by the moonlight. The werewolf growled and leaped on my dad and bit him. It must have been a Quadpot fan getting his revenge on my father for taking up 'valuable Quadpot time' in the official Quidditch slash Quadpot stadium. I chased off the werewolf and brought my dad home, helping him walk all the way."  
  
"How horrible," said Hermione. Harry then realized that he was gaping and he silently closed his mouth.  
  
"We were able to keep it under control and create some new medications for my father. He was an expert at making potions and often tested his creations on himself to see if it could help our other patients."  
  
"Why'd you come here?" Ron asked stupidly.  
  
"My dad was traded to the Irish team last year, so I was transferred to Hogwarts, and we all decided to move to London because it was a nice city and my father could Apparate his way to Ireland. We all needed a change from the lives we had in America. The ridicule from my class mates had really gotten bad, and it wasn't so easy for us when the press found out about my dad. So, we rented a boat to have our own little adventure on our way to London. Well, we had a bigger adventure than we planned."  
  
Harry swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Here it is, he thought.  
  
Selene let out a long slow sigh and her wispy pranced around in the air. "Voldemort attacked us. He used me as a bargaining tool. He wanted something from my parents, and he killed my father right in front of me as he was trying to disarm Voldemort. I bit his hand to get away from him to prevent the same thing from happening to my mother. She was killed anyway."  
  
Harry could see tears forming in Selene's eyes. Should I tell her about her mom?  
  
"Lily Potter was my godmother. My godfather was killed by a Bludger before my first birthday. Since both of my godparents were dead, my mother appointed Remus as my guardian if anything were to happen. Well, that's my story I guess. Any questions?"  
  
Hermione asked, "Did a relative of yours invent the Wolfsbane potion?"  
  
"Yup. My grandfather invented it."  
  
Harry heard a faint scratching noise coming from upstairs. Selene's eyes grew wide and she jumped up from her chair and ran up the stairs. "Sorry! I'll be right back down!" she shouted as her shoes clunked on the wooden staircase. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. Fred and George exchanged looks and Disapparated. Everyone else left the room. "Harry," Hermione said, "you're hiding something."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Harry motioned to the staircase and Ron nodded. They both took off before Hermione could follow. They ran up the staircase until there were no more flights to go. There was a single door at the end of the hallway that was ajar. Light spilled out of it, and Harry could hear the calls of an animal. They both crept silently to the door.  
  
"I wish we had an extendable ear," Ron said. Harry felt a hand come down on his shoulder and he whipped around pulling out his wand at the same time.  
  
"Relax, mate," Fred said.  
  
"It's only us," said George.  
  
Harry put his wand away and the four boys silently crawled towards the door. Harry peered inside, through the crack, to see Selene holding a box to Buckbeak, the hippogriff's, mouth. A static voice sound came from the box. Harry heard whimpering coming from behind him, and he turned around to see Ron grimacing.  
  
"What is it?" he whispered.  
  
Ron feebly pointed to the door. A spider was slowly crawling down the side of it. Then the hallway filled with light and Harry was momentarily blinded as the door behind him was opened. When Harry's eyes adjusted he found Selene looking down at him.  
  
"If you guys wanted to help all you had to do was ask. Spying doesn't get anything done." She reached out her hand to help Harry up. He took it and straitened himself out meeting her eyes. She smiled and led the boys into the room. It smelled of hay and horse poop, Harry's nose began to itch.  
  
Harry bowed to the magnificent creature standing in the center of the room. Its golden eyes stared at him as it bowed back. The three red-haired boys followed Harry's action and they each received a bow from the hippogriff.  
  
"Buckbeak misses Sirius," Selene said to them.  
  
"How can you tell?" asked Ron.  
  
"He told me through this." She held up the purple thing; it looked like a speaker box close up.  
  
"What is that?" Harry asked.  
  
"This is called a Doolittle. You know the story, the man that could talk to the animals? He was a great wizard. He invented this so that wizards and witches without his gift could converse with our fellow animals.  
  
"He's also hungry." Selene said, changing the subject back to Buckbeak. "Can someone bring up some leftovers?"  
  
"I'll get it!" George said. He winked at Selene and left with a pop. Selene smiled. She yawned and pressed her palms to her eyes.  
  
"An hour of sleep isn't the healthiest thing the world." She casually leaned on Buckbeak and scratched his head. "You need to be groomed. Can someone grab me that bucket in the corner? Sorry for being so lazy."  
  
"I'll get it!" Fred said, as he copied his twin brother's gestures. "It's no problem at all." He ran to the corner, snatched the bucket and nearly skipped back over to Selene.  
  
"Thank you, Fred," she said as she calmly took the bucket from his hands.  
  
"How'd you know I was Fred?"  
  
"You have more freckles than George, and George has darker hair." Another pop sounded and George appeared holding a plate of scraps. His hair really is a darker shade of red, Harry thought.  
  
"How'd you see that?" Ron asked. "I'm their brother and I never saw that before."  
  
"I dunno, I just noticed it." She took a rubber comb from the bucket and made circular motions on Buckbeak's fur, sending dust and dead hair into the air. Harry shuffled over to her and pulled a second rubber comb out of the bucket, and copied what she was doing on the Buckbeak's other side. The dust made Harry choke and he began to cough.  
  
Selene let out a small giggle and tossed the rubber tool back into the bucket at Buckbeak's hind foot. Harry looked to his left to see Ron, Fred, and George tossing pieces of food at Buckbeak, who would snatch it in its beak and swallow the scrap whole. Harry started to walk behind Buckbeak to the other side, but Selene stopped him. "You have to put your hand on him while you're walking around so that he knows he's behind you."  
  
Harry obediently put his hand on the soft grey fur and walked to Selene. "Why did I have to do that?"  
  
"Because if he hears something behind him and gets spooked, he'd kick, and you don't want to be kicked by any of these guys." Selene bent over and handed Harry a coarse brush. He carefully walked around back to his side and began flicking his wrist just like Selene, sending even more dust into the air.  
  
The food ran out and Harry and Selene both put away the brushes. Buckbeak started to squawk happily. Selene held the Doolittle to his beak and a fuzzy voice came through the speaker, "Thank you! I'm very happy now. I'll always miss the black dog though." Selene patted Buckbeak's silver feathered head and led them out of the room into the dark hallway. They walked down the stairs and each went to their own rooms.  
  
"Good night, guys," Selene said as she walked to the very last door on their level and slipped quietly inside.  
  
Harry could hear Ginny and Hermione talking excitedly through the door leading to their room. "Won't she get in trouble?" he heard Ginny ask. Then the floorboard beneath his foot squeaked and the girls fell silent. Harry silently dashed to his rooms and shut the door quickly behind him. The lights turned on. The ebon hissed in its cage. Hedwig hooted to quiet the black bird.  
  
Harry walked over to his bed and took off his shirt. He threw it on the floor and sat on his bed, he did not feel like putting on his pajamas tonight. He noticed a card on his pillow. There was handwriting not familiar to Harry on it.  
  
Welcome home, Harry.  
  
It wasn't Sirius's writing, or Mrs. Weasley's. Selene must have written this, he thought. Harry placed it gently on his dresser and crawled into bed; it was warm and welcoming. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind but he couldn't. He laid there for hours as it seemed staring at the ceiling. He whispered, "Lights off please," to the ceiling, and it immediately obeyed. A few minutes later, Harry drifted off to sleep.  
  
Harry dreamed of two huge grey-blue eyes crying and floating in a white mist. In the reflection of the tears, Harry saw the silhouettes of human bodies lying on the ground. All around him a bought of dark laughter began. A chill ran down his spine. He reached out to wipe away the tears from the eyes, but he was jerked out of his dream by the pain in his hand. Harry looked around, and on the floor was the ebon in its ruby cage. It was squawking and biting at the bars madly.  
  
Harry said, "Lights on." He picked up the cage and placed it on his dresser; he then began to rummage through his trunk to see if any of the rope he had used was in there. To his luck he found some and he tied it to the topmost bar of the cage. He made a loop with the twine and hung it from the hook that had appeared on the wall.  
  
Harry sat down on his bed again. Suddenly, a muffled noise reached Harry's ear; it sounded as if some one was crying. Harry stuck his hands in his pockets and crept out of the room. A strip of light lay upon the floor leading to Selene's room. The sound got louder and angry shouts reached him. "Why'd he have to kill them?! Why did he have to leave me all alone!? What did I do!? What if I didn't receive them after they died!? Who would he have killed then!?" Harry heard a crash of glass against the wall. He pulled the door open to see Selene pound her fists on the back wall. Her back was toward him, and he stared as she slid to the floor, her head pressed against the wall. She curled herself into a ball and held her head in her bloody hands.  
  
Harry took a step forward, the floorboard creaked, Selene's head snapped up. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, running lines through the spots of blood her hands had left behind. She sniffed and wiped the edge of her eyes with her forefingers. "Sorry," she said in a raspy voice. "I didn't mean to wake you if-"  
  
"You didn't wake me," Harry interrupted, "My ebon's cage practically broke my hand when it fell off the dresser." Harry could see this wasn't comforting her and he grabbed the box of tissues residing on the bedside table. "Here." He walked over to and sat down next to her. He presented the tissues to her and she took one and wiped her face. Harry took her hands and started to rub the blood off. Selene flinched as the tissue ripped. Harry squinted and found a piece of glass sticking out of her palm. He pinched the shard with his thumb and index finger and slowly pulled it out of her hand.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I had a nightmare. I have absolutely no idea what happened to my mom, and I think the thought is haunting me." Selene looked up from her hand and into Harry's eyes. His mind flashed back to his dream as another tear spilled over her lid. He looked away. "I know it's been only a day, but I'm so angry and scared. I grabbed that glass cup," she pointed to the pile of glass in the corner of the room, "and I smashed it. I needed to take my anger out on something. Why did he have to kill my parents?"  
  
"All things happen for a reason," he answered as he stared into space. "Selene," he turned his head to face her, How do I tell her? How about we get her off the floor first? "Here, let's sit on the bed." Harry got up and helped Selene to her feet. They walked over to the bed together and simultaneously sat on the bed. Selene snatched another tissue and put it on the spot where the glass had been; she applied pressure.  
  
"There's something I have to tell you."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I saw your mother die."  
  
"How? How could you have been there?"  
  
Harry sighed, Even more explaining than I thought. "Ever since Voldemort was reborn, his emotions and mine have been connected. Sometimes, I can see what he's doing, when he's doing it, in my dreams. I don't plan for it to happen, it just does if I don't clear my head before I go to sleep. I think he can see what I see too, so if he likes what he sees I'm suddenly happy, otherwise I'm extremely angry, and it's only like this with these two emotions."  
  
"Talk about your invasion of privacy," Selene said, letting out a small choked laugh. Harry grinned with her, and then his face grew sad again.  
  
"Your mother committed suicide."  
  
Selene looked at Harry. "What?"  
  
"After you bit Voldemort, your mother was brought before him. He asked her something about living as long as the moon and threatened your life, she said, 'Be the moon' and she said that you would never be found. She killed herself before Voldemort could say anything else."  
  
Selene lowered her head, and stared at the tissue that was becoming red with her blood. "I can still taste his blood," she whispered. "It was ice- cold and it tasted like-"  
  
She stopped. Harry looked in her direction; the cage containing the ebon was rolling into her room. "Death," she breathed. 


	5. Of Quidditch and Werewolves

CHAPTER FIVE  
  
Of Quidditch and Werewolves  
  
Harry stooped down and picked up the ebon, "I'll be right back," he said over his shoulder to Selene. He tip toed back to his room and tapped on the wall; a hook formed itself there. Harry held out the cage and the wall grabbed it from him, forming a secure hold on the cage, the ebon squawked. "I don't know what you want," he said defensively to the bird.  
  
There was a knock on the door and Harry turned to find Selene standing in the doorway. "You want some hot chocolate?" she asked. Harry nodded and she left. He bent over to pick his shirt off of the floor; he pulled the shirt over his head and a piece of string fell from it.  
  
"Stupid bird." He began to feel anger spreading through his veins. He had no idea why he felt it, but he did. He shook his head and crept down the stairs.  
  
He found Selene at the microwave as she pulled a porcelain mug from the machine. She ripped open a packet of mix and poured it into the steaming milk. She put in a spoon and- "Here, I'll stir them," Harry said hurriedly, remembering her bloody hands.  
  
"Thanks," Selene smiled as she handed him the mug and stuck another one into the microwave. Harry stirred quietly as the spoon clinked against the cup. "You wanna go watch the sun rise?" Harry's head jerked up.  
  
"Sure, but we have to bandage your hands up first." Selene rolled her eyes and grabbed some gauze. She winced as she washed her hands with antiseptic; Harry put down his mug and wrapped the fabric around her hands.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No problem."  
  
Selene took her mug and padded her way up the staircase, Harry followed to the third landing. When they reached the very top level she stopped. She shuffled silently into Buckbeak's room, Harry continued following her lead.  
  
Selene slowly placed her mug on the straw covered floor and unlatched the window, pushed the glass up, and crawled outside. She leaned back in to retrieve her hot chocolate. "C'mon."  
  
Harry stepped cautiously through the window onto the cold roof; he crawled over to Selene and eased himself down. "So," he croaked, "what was your old school like?"  
  
Selene took a sip of her drink. "I'm sure Hogwarts is better," she took another sip. "Well, um I think it was in a canyon in Area 51."  
  
"Area 51?"  
  
"It's a place the Military sets apart for the magic folk. They don't say anything to the Muggles, but they tell them that it's a place where the Military tests the new aircraft," she smiled. "Most of the Muggles think that the Government is hiding aliens and that top secret testing is going on there. Mugs are dense."  
  
"Hold on," Harry interrupted, "your government knows about magic folk?"  
  
"Yes, our Muggle President even knows about us because nothing is allowed to be hidden from him. He's good about it though, he doesn't breathe a word about our world, but as soon as his term is over, his memory will be erased of the truth.  
  
"Anyway, school was okay I guess. As I said earlier, I was hated there except by my Quidditch team, they were my only friends. Of course I gained an infamous reputation when my dad's being a werewolf was exposed." She sighed.  
  
"Classes were good. We're taught in sixth year about Griffons with the one owned by our school, in Magical Creatures class. Defense Against the Dark Arts was always fun, that and Transfiguration were my best subjects. Pretty good in potions. Charms was always a blast." She changed her gaze from Harry to the red glow at the horizon. "I won't miss it too much."  
  
"You'll like it at Hogwarts, I'm sure." Selene smiled at Harry's reassurance. "You might want to watch out for the Slytherins, they'll probably be the only trouble you'll get."  
  
"Oh I'm sure they're all right."  
  
Harry laughed, "I dunno, Slytherins can be quite thick headed." The anger from before had finally receded from his thoughts. The chocolate must have helped it, he thought. He watched as the sun became an array of dazzling colors. He should watch the sun rise more often.  
  
Harry and Selene climbed through the window as soon as their cups were empty to find Buckbeak awake and clicking his beak happily. Selene ran over and patted his head with a bandaged hand. They both went downstairs together for breakfast chatting excitedly about Quidditch the whole way.  
  
Everyone groggily shuffled their way to the table for breakfast whereas Selene and Harry were very awake and hid their thoughts of what happened that night. They both cheerfully ate pieces of the remaining cake and talked about random things. Hermione and Ron stared in amazement at how they acted like friends that had been reunited after being separated for a year.  
  
After breakfast Ron and Harry went to Ron's room to sort through their chocolate frog cards. After about half an hour Ron finally spoke, "What happened to her hands?"  
  
"Huh? Oh nothing, she broke some glass last night and accidentally cut herself, that's all."  
  
"Alright." Ron went silent again. "Oy! I found it!" he exclaimed after about five minutes of pure silence. Harry nearly fell backwards from this sudden proclamation.  
  
"Hell, Ron! What did you find?" Harry straitened himself up and looked at his friend, waiting for a reply.  
  
"It's the Artemis card. See his name is Rudolph Artemis. It says he's the creator of the Wolfsbane potion."  
  
"So you couldn't just take Selene and Hermione's word for it? You had to find evidence?" He snatched the card from his friend's hand and looked it over. A man's face appeared. He had a clasp with a jewel like Selene's on his cloak and a silver white strand of hair fell in front of his face. "Hey, Ron, look!" he gave the card to Ron.  
  
"Harry the card is empty." Ron raised an eyebrow, "What was so important anyway?"  
  
"Nothing important, just a little something interesting," Harry honestly had no idea what to say to his best friend. Maybe that jewel was an heirloom or something.  
  
Harry and Ron both went back downstairs for a butterbeer to find Selene sitting on the couch with a mobile computer on her lap. "Hey, guys. What were you doin' up there?"  
  
"Nothing, just sorting through some cards."  
  
"I gotcha," she replied as she typed something into the computer. Harry and Ron continued their trip to the refrigerator.  
  
"What was that on her lap?"  
  
"It's called a laptop; it's a kind of computer. I have no idea how she's working it though, there aren't any phone lines in the house." They opened their butterbeers, and sat down in the comfy chairs across from Selene.  
  
"What are you doing?" Ron asked.  
  
"I'm emailing my friends. It's kind of like sending an owl, only faster." Ron walked behind her to watch.  
  
"Who are Drew, Skye, and Nyki?"  
  
"Drew used to be our Quidditch Captain, he graduated three years ago, and Skye's his little sister. Nyki was in a different house than we were, and was my opposing Seeker, but we managed to become friends. They were my best friends at Griffonwings."  
  
"Okay, so how does this thing work exactly?"  
  
"Well, this is a computer for magic folk, what you do is you stick the power orb into the computer," she indicated the glass ball halfway sticking out of the back of the computer, "this connects you to the internet, which is a program that connects you to the rest of the world through other computers." Harry stared at the plates on the wall as Selene explained to him the differences between the wizarding internet and the Muggle internet and how e-mail and instant messaging works. He relaxed his body and took a sip of his drink.  
  
After she was finished and Ron had sit back down, Fred and George came into the room holding a load of their new tricks for their joke shop, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. They placed the items on the coffee table in front of Harry and set them up in a display order for them all to see their inventions. "Are those Portable Swamps?"  
  
Harry was surprised that Selene knew what they were. "Yup," Fred replied, "How did you know about them?"  
  
"I ordered a couple from you," she said grinning.  
  
"Where'd you set them off?" George asked eagerly.  
  
"Quadpot locker rooms," she smirked.  
  
"Brilliant!" the twins said simultaneously. Just then a snowy owl fluttered into the room and perched itself on Selene's arm. It was larger then Hedwig, but it had the same piercing yellow eyes as Harry's owl.  
  
"What's this Avedis?" The owl had dropped a plastic card in Selene's lap. She looked it over and smiled. "I got my driver's license!"  
  
"We just got ours," Fred said.  
  
"How old are you?" asked George.  
  
"I turned sixteen yesterday. Guess I'm not allowed to drive here then."  
  
"I'm sure you can," George continued, "You're a witch, you can always change your license to say your seventeen if the Muggles pull you over."  
  
"Sounds like a good deal." Selene's owl pulled at her wispy affectionately and flew away. Fred and George then continued their presentation, but they had to cut it short since a bell rang calling them to lunch.  
  
Harry found his seat and slowly ate his meal. He wasn't in the mood for talking, or eating, all he wanted to do was sleep and he had no idea why. Was he really that tired? Selene, Ginny and Hermione left before anyone else, having eaten ravenously like wolves. .  
  
As soon as Harry was finished he walked to the parlor to find all three of the girls talking. Selene was laying stomach down on the couch and Ginny and Hermione were sitting on the floor. What they were talking about Harry had no idea; he had no time to figure it out either because at the same moment Selene looked at him, Harry's scar began to split in pain. All three of the girls ran over to him, and lead him to the couch. "Harry!"  
  
"Harry! Harry, breath in deeply and let it out slowly. Come on Harry relax!" Harry closed his eyes. How come this happened? What's wrong? He slowly drew in a deep breath and let it out as slow as possible. He repeated this three times and the pain receded.  
  
"Whoa, that was weird," he said as he opened his eyes. The three girls stood over him, each with a look of worry on their faces. Selene straitened up and scratched her head.  
  
"What happened, exactly?"  
  
"I honestly have no idea, it just, I dunno."  
  
"Right," Selene helped Harry to his feet, his head spun from the change. When the colors stopped swimming, he slowly walked around to get his bearings.  
  
Selene left him to himself and the other girls followed her lead. "You need to get some time alone. We'll come back later, Harry," Hermione said.  
  
Harry didn't want to be alone though, he didn't want to be left with only his thoughts. Why, when Selene looked at him, had his scar hurt? What is it that Voldemort wants from her? he thought. Harry fell asleep yet again; it was the only way for him to get away from all his trouble and pain.  
  
After what seemed like a minute, Harry was awoken by the rustling of papers. He reached for his glasses and he was able to decipher who the person was when he put them on. Selene was scribbling down words and hastily stuffing parchments in envelopes. "Stupid deadlines...registration...ugh!" Harry heard her mumble. She snapped her fingers and Avedis swooped down the staircase and fluttered to her arm. "Avedis, take this to the Ministry...Hogwarts...and wherever else they tell you to go." She handed the letters to the owl and it left her shoulder, flying through the window.  
  
Selene stopped when she saw Harry's open eyes. "Feeling better?" she asked. Harry nodded. He pushed himself upright, and a bright light from the open shutters blinded him for a minute. He shielded his eyes with his hand, and felt gentle hands grab him on the shoulders, helping Harry to stand up.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"What are friends for?"  
  
Selene and Harry headed to the kitchen together, because at that moment the bell rang. Harry noticed then that Selene's jewel had changed; it was whiter than on his first day back at Grimmauld Place. "Selene, your jewel, what does it do? I mean there's more white in it than before and you did something to it at the memorial service."  
  
Selene smiled, "It shows the phases of the moon. Every single person in my family has one of these jewels, I guess they-"  
  
"Hullo, Harry," Ron interrupted. An expression of enormous relief settled itself on Selene's face. "I heard what happened today, are you okay, mate?"  
  
Harry looked at Ron and nodded, "Great!" Ron exclaimed, "Hey, how about we play some Quidditch tomorrow? Do you have a broom, Selene?"  
  
"Yes," she said feebly. "A game of Quidditch sounds like fun."  
  
Harry loved Quidditch and he was happy that Ron suggested this. Harry has felt moody the whole day, and the wind running through his hair would definitely remove his troubles. Why did Selene seem so relieved that Ron interrupted? he thought, Does her necklace contain Dark Magic?  
  
After dinner, Harry decided to take a hot shower, his muscles were hurting from sleeping on the couch and he thought that it would relieve some stress and relax him. Harry asked Mrs. Weasley where it was located and she told him it was through the master bedroom. Harry traveled up to the second landing and walked to the room at the end of the hall. It was the room farthest away from Selene's.  
  
He walked over the moldy carpet through the dank and dark room. Cobwebs hung from all the corners in the room, Harry noticed one place that did not have a trace of aging and decay. He walked toward it to find a portrait of the last family of Blacks. A man and a woman with black hair and brown eyes stared menacingly at Harry. A teenage version of Sirius Black stood handsomely in the portrait, but he did not look happy to be sanding there with his family. A younger boy stood next to Sirius, he had the cold glare of his parents and looked just as mean as them. "Sirius," Harry whispered, hoping that this painting could move and talk as the portraits at Hogwarts did. No one in the painting moved.  
  
Harry turned away from the painting and continued his way to the bath. The room glowed with an intense light of cleanliness. It was not at all like the room Harry had just left, the tile was cool and hard beneath his bare feet and in the silver fixtures was a perfect reflection of Harry. He dropped his pajamas on the floor and turned on the shower, he slid the glass door close. The pane fogged up almost immediately and the steam filled his lungs. Harry took off his clothes and glasses and stepped into the warm soft bullets of water falling from the showerhead. He closed his eyes, and fell into a sort of trance. He opened his eyes and scrubbed himself down with a wash cloth he had brought with him. He turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around himself. He then pulled his nightshirt over his head and continued to get ready for bed.  
  
After he was done in the bathroom he gathered his things and sprinted through the gloomy room to the welcoming hallway. He walked downstairs, after putting his things away, into the drawing room. The fire smoldered peacefully under the hearth and Harry became drowsy from the warm atmosphere. He sat on the couch and stared into the flames. His eyes began to burn as the anger from the early morning became rekindled. Sirius used to talk to me through there, he thought, now I'll never see him again. I hate Bellatrix Lestrange. I hate Voldemort. I HATE Peter Pettigrew.  
  
Bellatrix Lestrange was Sirius Black's cousin and a Death Eater. She was the one that killed Sirius last year. She was the reason why Harry was completely alone. Pettigrew ratted out Harry's parents to Voldemort fifteen years ago; he was the reason why Voldemort was reborn, and the traitor that ultimately killed Harry's parents and sent Sirius into hiding.  
  
Harry thought he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around, but no one was there. Harry cleared his mind. He thought of his friends. Of how they made his life so much better than what it would've been hadn't he met them. He thought of Selene, her beautiful smile and caring face. Harry thought more about her until he fell asleep.  
  
Sunlight spilled from the open window to Harry's closed eyes, waking him up. He felt refreshed, almost reborn from his peaceful sleep. He silently tip-toed upstairs, and got dressed, enjoying every breath of air he took; his body was ready for the game of Quidditch scheduled later in the day.  
  
Harry raced his shadow down the stairs to the empty parlor. Tongues of light from the fire jumped around the room, the smoky smell made Harry sneeze. He walked down the stone stairs to the eating area. The Weasley kids, Hermione, and Selene were all sitting down at the table talking excitedly about the Quidditch game.  
  
"Hermione, if you want to play with us, you could borrow my old broom, it's a Nimbus 2000," Selene said.  
  
Harry saw Hermione shake her head as he grabbed some crumpets. He turned to join them, "I'd rather just watch," Hermione said, "I'm not that comfortable with sports."  
  
"Okay, but if you want to join in, the offer stands. Oh hi, Harry, come on, pull up a chair. We're gonna go to get ready in a few minutes."  
  
"Sounds good," Harry said as he sat down in a black chair next to Selene. "So, what kind of broom do you have?"  
  
"I have a new model, a Sonic Boom." Selene smiled proudly, she obviously loved her broom. "It's a bit faster than the Firebolt and is very easy to handle. I really like the twigs at the end, they're very colorful."  
  
"Let's start playing shall we?" Ron interrupted. Harry sprinted up the stairs, everyone ran behind him. They ran through the empty parlor and up more stairs. They each ran to their rooms. Harry grabbed his broom and mounted it; he glided down the stairs and waited for his friends to join him. He let go of the broom and folded his arms. The feel of his broom under Harry felt good. He felt whole as if he was born to sit on this broom, his trusty Firebolt.  
  
Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George flew down the stars in the same manner that Harry did. "Where's Selene?" Ginny asked as she opened the front door and led them outside broom in hand.  
  
"I thought she'd come down already," Ron said.  
  
"She'll come down," George said.  
  
"Yeah, she's not the kind of girl that would turn down Quidditch!" Fred added. They all walked in between the houses to the back lot. Harry threw his leg over his broom and took off into the air. He flew higher and higher until he couldn't see any of the Weasleys' flaming red hair. Harry could hear something though; he flew down and stopped next to Ron.  
  
"What is it?" Harry asked.  
  
"We have to select captains and divide into teams, mate."  
  
Harry dismounted and looked in the direction Ron was looking. Selene was standing on the roof. She mounted her broom and flew down to them. "You forgot the Quaffle and the baskets," she said. She tossed the baskets at Fred and George who charmed the baskets to float right before they hit the ground. Harry watched as the baskets soared into the fog to the point where he could barely make them out.  
  
"Whoa," Ron said, "get a load of this broom!" Harry looked at the broom in Ron's hands. "Sonic Boom" was written on the red oak handle in silver. The broomstick was polished to perfection; Harry could see his reflection in the gloss. The tail of the broom had yellow, orange, and red twigs in it making it look as if the handle had a tongue of fire coming out of the end. The broom sprung out of Ron's hands and Selene snatched it out of the air.  
  
"Like it?" Selene said casually.  
  
"How fast does it go?" Harry asked.  
  
"I dunno, how about we race brooms later?"  
  
"Sounds fun," Ginny said.  
  
"Can we get started?" George asked.  
  
"George and I will be captains," Fred said, "oldest picks first!"  
  
"Oh come on, Fred!"  
  
"I choose Harry!"  
  
"Fine, I take Selene!"  
  
"Ron."  
  
"Come on, Ginny."  
  
"Looks like it's girls against boys, George."  
  
"Come off it, Fred."  
  
Fred tied a piece of cloth around his arm. "Now you'll know who to pass the Quaffle to."  
  
"No, really," Ron mumbled. Harry saw Selene whisper something in George's ear, who then smiled. Harry saw George mouth "Nice."  
  
George took off with the Quaffle and the game began. Harry flew into the fog, and almost instantly spotted George whizzing towards Harry's team's basket. Harry tore after the eighteen year-old, Harry glanced behind him to see Ginny, trying to catch up. Harry met up with George and rammed into him. Harry groped for the ball, but missed it. George threw it at the goal, but Ron blocked it. Ron was the Gryffindor Keeper, and that throw was no challenge for him. Ron tossed the Quaffle to Harry who then turned around and speed toward the other team's goal. He pressed his body against his Firebolt, but he couldn't see the basket through the mist. Just then a blur of color zoomed in front of him and he braked on his broom.  
  
"Nice try, Potter!" Harry heard Selene shout. He looked at his hands, but the Quaffle had vanished. Harry veered his broom in the other direction and chased after Selene. She was too far ahead of him though, and Harry heard Ron groan as the American scored.  
  
Ron gave the Quaffle to Fred, who Harry then followed. Harry flew next to Fred. "I'm going to toss the ball under me. You grab it and score!" Fred instructed. Harry nodded and backed off. They neared the target and Fred passed the ball to Harry; Harry clutched it tightly as to not have Selene take it from him again, and he leaned on his broom. His shirt clung to his skinny body and his glasses dug into his nose; the wind whipped Harry's hair back and he neared the basket. George was waiting. George slammed himself into Harry, but Harry held his ground. The basket was open, Harry released the ball, and to his horror Selene appeared out of nowhere and snatched the ball from the air seconds before it went into the basket. She's amazingly good, Harry thought, If she goes to Gryffindor, we HAVE to have her on the team!  
  
Harry followed Selene, but then noticed that she didn't have the ball anymore. Down below them Ginny was flying as fast as she could towards the other goal. Harry tried to get himself to Ginny's level, but Selene was too fast, she flew right behind Ginny and rammed Harry from below. The nose of his broom faced the sky and the Firebolt flew higher and higher into the sky. It spun around as Harry tried to set himself right, and he heard Ron yell. They had scored again.  
  
"TIME FOR SUPPER!" Harry heard Mrs. Weasley's shrill voice shout. Harry silently headed for the ground. They had lost 2-0 in a Quidditch match against mostly a team of girls.  
  
George, Ginny, and Selene were huddled in a group chanting, "WE WON! WE WO- ON!" and they continued to do so as they all skipped inside, although Fred, Ron, and Harry hung their heads and dragged their feet in defeat.  
  
"I can't believe we lost to a bunch of girls!" Fred said as they headed upstairs to put away their brooms.  
  
"Oy, Selene is really good!" Ron exclaimed. "She kept on blocking my own blocks! I certainly hope she's sorted into Gryffindor!"  
  
"That's what I was thinking," Harry replied. "Her dad certainly taught her some great moves."  
  
"That was definitely professional playing." Fred said.  
  
Three days after the Quidditch game, Harry saw no sign of Selene or Lupin until red light began to spill through the blinds onto the parlor floor. Selene came running down the stairs at the first sign of sunset. "Full moon tonight, Harry," she said as she tapped her jewel and disappeared into the eating area.  
  
Harry solemnly followed her path down the stairs, when he reached the dim light of the kitchen, he saw Selene hunched over the ice box. She was grabbing raw meat of all sorts and throwing it into a bucket. "What're you doing?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well, a werewolf has to entertain itself for a night," she said as she closed the box and slammed the bucket of meat on the table, sending red juice flying in the air.  
  
"Well, what exactly are you go-"  
  
"I'm going to keep him company throughout the night. He'll have human emotion in his wolf form, he's had his potion." She wiped her hands on her huge plaid pants that hid her feet from view. "Which reminds me, can you hand me those jugs of potion in that top cabinet? I'm not all that tall as, you can see." She was almost a head shorter than Harry, and only slightly taller than Harry's ex-girlfriend, the Ravenclaw Seeker, Cho Chang.  
  
Harry nodded and did as Selene asked. "Thanks."  
  
Harry nodded again. Selene grabbed a biscuit and nibbled on it; she then took a goblet from the lower cabinet, and poured smoking liquids from both of the jugs into it. "What're those for?" Harry asked.  
  
"Painkiller and Wolfsbane, what else is there?" she laughed. Selene held the biscuit between her teeth and grabbed the potion and the bucket. Her feet peeked out from under her pants as she walked across the kitchen and up the stairs, Harry followed.  
  
They walked through the parlor and started up the golden oak staircase, Selene turned around halfway up the second flight, "Wait, are you coming with?"  
  
Harry thought that if she was able to handle a werewolf, surely he could, he had, after all, defeated Voldemort numerous times. "Well, I thought, I could. I mean, I have defeated Voldemort, and a werewolf can't be half as bad, if it's in its right mind. Can it?"  
  
Selene shook her head, "Come on. Men, always think they can handle everything," she murmured. "You might want to take notes, a little birdie told me that we'll be studying them this year, you might as well get a head start."  
  
"Well, why should I take notes? I mean, er, what should I take notes of?" Harry was still a little confused, but this could be an interesting thing to watch. He stopped in his room to get the writing materials and joined Selene in walking up the final staircase.  
  
They found themselves in a dark room, with rips in the wallpaper and scratches on the molding. Harry saw a lump on the broken four-poster bed. Selene put the bucket on the floor and sat on the bed next to the lump, "Remus," she said, "Remus, it's almost time." She gently shook the lump and a face peeked out from under the blankets. "Harry, stay by the door," Selene instructed as Harry took a step towards the bed.  
  
"Harry's here?" a hoarse voice croaked.  
  
"Yes, it's okay, Remus, you'll be safe with your potion. Plus, you have me here to protect him if anything goes wrong. Take your potion." Lupin sat up in bed. His hair was very untidy and he had huge circles under his eyes, he obediently took the goblet and downed the smoking liquid.  
  
"Ugh, that tastes horrible!" Lupin laughed, "Do you think next time you can make it chocolate flavored?"  
  
Selene laughed at his request. She examined the hem of her tiny shirt, "I'll try my best."  
  
Selene stood up from the bed and crossed the room to Harry. She said in a low voice, "Keep your hand on the door. If he looses control while he's transforming, he might attack you." Selene attempted and failed to brush the wispy out of her face. "What we're going to study this year are the differences in a werewolf and a real wolf, in this case an Animagus. They're structural differences-"  
  
Moonlight spilled through the open window then, and Lupin went rigid in his bed. Selene jogged to him, "Harry, stay by the door!" Selene transformed into her beautiful white wolf Animagus form and leapt onto the bed.  
  
Harry watched as the parts of Lupin that Harry could see became covered in fur. Lupin's hands shrunk into paws, his nose and mouth became a snout and his ears traveled up the side of his head. The werewolf became tangled in the clothing and linens, Selene gently removed the clothes with her teeth. The werewolf stood on all fours in the center of the bed, Harry could then see the differences between the two animals. The werewolf's head was rounder, and the eyes were bigger than the wolf's. The tail arched downwards and the spine dipped in the center of the back. Harry didn't need to write this down, he would definitely remember it. The two animals silently jumped off of the bed, and landed in front of Harry, who then saw that the werewolf's paws had an extra toe.  
  
Selene untransformed and leaned on Harry, "Great thing to see, huh?" Harry realized that he was gripping the door so hard that his knuckles had turned white. He released his grip on the door and drew in a slow breath. "Want to feed him?"  
  
"What? Feed him?"  
  
"Well he has been sleeping all day." Selene grabbed the pail and held it out to Harry. Harry reached in and grabbed a particularly squishy and sloppy piece of meat. The red juice seeped between his fingers and began to trickle to his elbow.  
  
"Now what do I do?" Harry asked stupidly. He didn't want to have his fingers bitten off by a werewolf. Harry wasn't sure if he was supposed to let the animal take it from his hands or if he was supposed to toss it to the beast.  
  
"Here," Selene dug her hand into the bucket and pulled out another red glob of animal. "Remus," she said as if she were talking to the same Remus Lupin they had seen moments before in his pajamas. The wolf padded over to Selene and gratefully took the meat out of her wet hands. Harry placed his quill and parchment on the nightstand and crouched so he was eye level with Lupin. He cautiously held out his hand, the liquid dripped onto the floor, Harry's heart thumped loudly in his chest, his last experience with a werewolf had not been an enjoyable one. Lupin quickly swallowed the first piece of raw meat happily and blinked at Harry; it walked to him and sniffed at the meat. It gently grabbed a corner of the meat, slid the glob out of Harry's hand, and dropped it on the floor. The werewolf then lay on his stomach, grabbed the meat between his paws and chewed on it, juice gushed onto the wooden floor. 


	6. The Ride Back Home

CHAPTER SIX  
  
The Ride Back Home  
  
A week after the full moon, Mrs. Weasley woke them all up at five in the morning. "What is it?" Ron grumbled, as they all piled into the kitchen.  
  
"We're going on a trip!" she sang as she magically began packing. A shirt whacked Harry in the back of the head as it flew from upstairs to Mrs. Weasley's suitcase. Harry jumped out of the way as a mass of clothing pummeled after the shirt. He decided to lean on the counter since clothing can't travel through walls and the counter was attached to one.  
  
"Well, where are we going?" Hermione asked as she ran a brush through her tangled hair. Harry saw that Ginny was doing the same whereas Selene just leaned on a chair next to Harry and yawned, not caring about her messy hair. A tingly feeling came to his stomach then; it swarmed throughout his body and made him feel happy that he was in the same room as her. She looks cute, Harry thought. He nervously ran a hand through his hair as Selene smiled at him.  
  
"We're going to stay in London for the rest of the summer. It's just too quiet in this house," Mrs. Weasley said to Hermione. Harry continued watching Selene out of the corner of his eye. She was looking at her hands; they had healed completely from the cuts, no scars. She ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it out.  
  
"What if we opened the curtains to Mrs. Black's portrait?" Ron suggested as he suppressed a yawn. Harry remembered when those curtains were accidentally opened last year, Mrs. Black had screamed at the top of her lungs; she ranted about how upset she about the Order being there and about how ashamed she was of Sirius.  
  
Mrs. Weasley glared at Ron who then sank between Fred and George as to have them protect him from whatever was to come his way from his mum. "Go and pack. Meet back down here in half an hour."  
  
Fred proposed that he and George Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron, he was immediately shut down. "Who put a bug in her porridge?" Ron whispered to Harry. Harry shrugged and shuffled upstairs. He slowly folded up his clothes and stuffed them in his trunk. He put the ebon's cage inside of Hedwig's but she protested furiously, she clawed at the cage and ripped Harry's sleeve in her struggle.  
  
"What's the matter with you?" Harry asked as he slammed the cage door shut. Hedwig clicked her beak angrily at him and he lifted the cage over his shoulder. He snatched the handle of his trunk and grumpily pulled it down the stairs. Harry didn't appreciate the ebon tugging at his hair very much, and it was way too early in the morning for him.  
  
Harry threw his things in the giant pile of stuff at the bottom of the stair case. The pile was instantly levitated and floated out the door. "Remus is going to flag down the Knight Bus," Mrs. Weasley said over her shoulder as she lowered the clump of items onto a cart outside the door.  
  
Harry stepped out onto the warm dry grass into the blazing sun. He felt the rays heat his back to the burning point in the seconds that he was out there. The others joined him and Mrs. Weasley outside. Harry saw Ron glance at Hermione nervously, and watched him run a hand through his fiery red hair. He grinned at Ron's sheepishness this morning; Ron had let slip to Harry yesterday that he thought he might like Hermione.  
  
Harry sat himself down on the prickly grass and stared at the torn up street. Graffiti decorated the peeling houses and broken gates, music blared from Number 11's house. He thought about Sirius in his dog form running through the streets, chasing birds and scaring cats, as he did last year when they were leaving for King's Cross. Harry started to rip grass out of the ground absentmindedly for what seemed like forever; he felt some one grab his shoulder. Harry looked up to see Selene smiling down at him, her red baseball cap casting a shadow over her eyes; they twinkled from the sun reflecting off of Harry's glasses.  
  
"Are you alright?" she laughed as she held out her hand to help Harry up.  
  
"Yeah, why?" Harry snapped defensively.  
  
"No need to bite my head off. The bus is here, thought you might want to know." Harry took her hand and apologized for being rude.  
  
"It's all good. It's early." Harry and Selene walked to the purple bus, Harry heard Lupin mutter something about Selene to Mrs. Weasley and thought he heard "Voldemort" in his sentence. They climbed up the stairs to the third level of the bus. They walked past Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt, They must be part of the Guard today. Selene plopped herself onto a couch in the mess of oddly assorted chairs, and Harry slid in next to her. He wanted to be as close to her as he could, and, well, he wasn't certain why. Ron and Hermione pulled up chairs and set them facing Harry and Selene. Harry saw Bill Weasley sitting by the stairway, more security.  
  
The bus lurched into motion; their chairs slid backwards a couple of feet as it took a huge jump forward. Before Harry new it, they had reached the Leaky Cauldron. Harry climbed down the stairs and out of the bus. Stanley Shunpike, a very pimply young man that worked on the bus, gave Harry a wink as he walked past him. They all filed into the Leaky Cauldron, an old rundown pub, Bill, Tonks, Lupin, and Shacklebolt came in after them.  
  
Mrs. Weasley went to talk to Tom, the no-toothed innkeeper, and Ron threw himself into a chair at a round table. Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and Selene walked through the smoky room and found chairs by Ron. Selene sort of crouched on her chair, and Ron rested his legs on the table. Fred, George, and Bill took a table close by them and saved a seat for Mrs. Weasley. Lupin, Tonks and Shacklebolt found a table not too far away.  
  
Tom shuffled up to their table and asked them what they wanted. Moments later their drinks popped out of their table and the food came shortly after. Tom scurried away, leaving them alone in the smoke and jibber of the wizards and witches in the other tables. They all were very silent, being so tired from waking up so early. The only noise coming from their table was the muffled giggles of Ginny, who was stuffing her fist in her mouth. Selene sat herself normally in her chair and elbowed Ginny; Ginny slowly removed her hand from her mouth. She burst out laughing and managed to choke out, "Fred...George...Laughing...Liquor..." She shoved her fist back into her mouth muffling her snorts and hoots of laughter.  
  
"Do you have any more?" Selene asked thoughtfully. Ginny nodded as she began to cry. She shoved her other hand in her pocket and produced four wax bottles filled with a pink liquid. Selene took one, Harry and Ron did too, but Hermione turned down the offer.  
  
"C'mon, Hermione," Ron said. He took the one left in Ginny's shaking hand and presented it to Hermione.  
  
"I'd rather not. I mean, how do you suppose you stop laughing?" Ginny shoved her hand in her other pocket and pulled out five bottles of blue liquid. They each took one, and Hermione received the pink one Ron was holding. Selene downed hers and slipped into a giggling fit, Harry followed. A feeling spread throughout his body as the drink hit his stomach, it tickled his arms and belly and Harry instantly began to laugh.  
  
They were shooed up to their rooms by Mrs. Weasley. The next few days passed swiftly, during which Harry and his friends spent most of their time at Fortescue's ice cream parlor, Ginny received an owl with a letter announcing her as a Gryffindor Prefect, Mrs. Weasley stuffed them with cake and bought Ginny new dress robes.  
  
They bought their books while Selene was being fitted for robes the day after the letter came, Harry waited for Selene when she was buying her books since she needed to buy the most, while the others went back to the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
Selene carried her small pile of books and her shopping bag with one arm and held out the other to Harry. Harry looped his arm through her elbow and they walked arm in arm. Selene laughed at this; she found it funny that Harry was "escorting" her back to the pub. "I've never had an escort," she smiled at Harry. Harry grinned back.  
  
"This is the first time I've ever escorted some one." They both laughed. The sun was setting and the road was tinted with a golden red light, and Selene continued to tell jokes. The grin never left Harry's face, he was very happy to have Selene this close to him, nothing could dampen his spirits. Then he saw it, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Selene had noticed too and dragged him into the store that was squashed between Quality Quidditch Supplies and a store selling moving plants.  
  
The bell on the door clanged loudly as they entered. George looked up from cleaning the desk and Fred looked around at them from up on a ladder he was using to allow him to make a seven foot tall stack of Portable Swamps. "Oy, Harry, Selene," George beamed as he came from behind the counter.  
  
"We were wondering when you two were coming around," Fred said as he leapt down from the ladder.  
  
"What will you be having today?" George said wiping his hands on his cloak.  
  
"I dunno, have any more Laughing Liquors?" Selene asked, smiling broadly.  
  
"And for you, Harry?" Fred asked hopefully.  
  
"Erm...How about some Skiving Snackboxes?" Harry replied looking around the room. The shelves were stocked with boxes of tricks and fireworks, posters advertising the shop were plastered over the walls sporting the faces of the Weasley twins grinning as colorful sparks went off behind them.  
  
"Right-o!" they said simultaneously as they went to different ends of the small store to get what Selene and Harry had requested.  
  
"You all get a discount, since we like you," Fred grinned as he went to the cash register, "That will be a Galleon each." Harry pulled out two galleons from his pocket and placed them in George's outstretched hand.  
  
"You don't need to pay for me, Harry, I have money," Selene protested. But Harry gave her a wink.  
  
"It's alright, you had enough to pay for today, and it's only a Galleon," Harry grabbed their parcels and they exited the shop, walking back to the Cauldron.  
  
The next days seemed to disappear, and the first of September met up with Harry earlier than he expected. He hastily finished packing his trunk; he threw his stuff down the stairs and met up with everyone at the foot of them. They were to walk to King's Cross. Lupin conjured up a couple of carts to carry the luggage on, and they set off behind him.  
  
Selene staggered once and bumped into Harry. "Are you alright?" he asked.  
  
"Oh yeah I'm fine, just tripped that's all." Harry didn't exactly believe her, she rubbed her eyes tiredly. Harry then tripped and bumped into her. "Hey! What was that for?"  
  
"I tripped." Harry laughed. Selene shoved him playfully. They reached the station in a short time, Harry looked at his watch, they were about twenty minutes early.  
  
Selene stopped to talk to Lupin while the others ran through the pillar between platforms nine and ten. Harry stood next to Ron as they waited for the train, a sort of movie played in his head. He saw Sirius the dog jumping around a group of people, he saw the bear-like canine put his paws on the shoulders of a black-haired green-eyed boy with round glasses. A woman with red hair screeched at the dog.  
  
A whistle sounded jerking Harry out of his trance. Harry was gathered into a tight hug by Mrs. Weasley, the men slapped him on the back as he grabbed his stuff to leave. He saw Selene hug Lupin. Harry thought about that hug. Lupin was the only one she had, as was Sirius the only one he had had.  
  
Selene ran up to Harry and they boarded the train. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione had to go meet with the Head Boy and Girl seeing as they were prefects. Harry and Selene found a compartment with no one in it. Harry stowed his stuff and Hedwig's cage on the rack and Selene left her things on the floor.  
  
A few awkward moments passed, until a round-faced and very forgettable sixth year tripped into their compartment. "Hullo, do you mind if I sit here?" he said feebly as he pushed his trunk onto the rack.  
  
"No not at all," Harry said.  
  
"My name's Neville Longbottom," he stretched out his hand to Selene, as he sat across from her, next to Harry.  
  
"It's an honor to meet you!" Selene replied as she took his hand. "My name's Selene Artemis." She cracked her knuckles when she pulled her hand away from his. She bit her lip, "So, er, how are your parents?" Neville looked out the window.  
  
"They're fine, and yours?" Neville clenched his fist.  
  
"Dead." A sad look passed Neville's eyes. Harry understood Neville's pain, Neville's parents were alive, but they don't recognize him, they don't recognize anything. They give him bubblegum wrappers every time he visits. It's Lestrange's fault, she had put them under the Cruciatus Curse until they went insane. Selene changed the subject quickly, "So what house are you in?"  
  
"Gryffindor like Harry. What year are you in?" Neville asked, he was acting as if nothing had happened to faze him. The train lurched into motion.  
  
"I'm joining your class." Harry stared out of the window, he wasn't involved the conversation, there's no reason to pay attention to it. "I would be in fifth year at my school, but I'm sixteen and we take our O.W.L. tests in fourth year. You see we start learning magic when we're twelve in America, and we end when we're eighteen, so I'll just be taking the N.E.W.T. tests earlier than..."  
  
A soft rain began to fall as the train exited the station; Harry traced his fingers along the paths that the rain made as it rolled down the window, he sighed deeply as he heard the compartment door slide open. He turned his head to see Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas walk into the compartment. "Hi, Harry! Hello, Neville," Dean said cheerfully, his voice had become deeper over the summer, and he was considerably taller too. "Who's your friend?"  
  
"Oh, hi, I'm Selene Artemis," she said cheerfully as she took Dean's hand.  
  
"I'm Seamus," Seamus said in his rich Irish accent. "It's nice to meet you, Selene," Selene let go of Dean's hand and took Seamus's, blushing slightly.  
  
"Do you mind if we sit with you?" Dean asked. Harry shook his head, with that, Dean and Seamus placed their things overhead.  
  
Ron and Hermione walked in after an hours worth of chatter between the five.  
  
"Hey, wassup, prefects?" Selene slid to the floor and decided to stay down there; she fiddled with the hem of her T-shirt.  
  
"Oh nothing," Hermione said in a bittersweet tone. Ron shoved Neville over and Hermione took a seat next to Ron. "Luna Lovegood was made a prefect." Harry snorted; Luna Lovegood was a fifth year Ravenclaw with an airy mood about her whose father ran a nonsense magazine called The Quibbler.  
  
"What'd we miss?" Ron asked rubbing his hands together.  
  
"The food cart," Selene laughed as she held out a fist full of chocolate frogs. Harry hadn't bought anything when the food cart rolled by and his stomach grumbled; Ron snatched the chocolate from Selene. Harry opened his mouth to ask for something, but Selene shoved a load of pastries onto his lap before any words had formed themselves in his mouth.  
  
Harry wolfed down a couple of pastries before the door slid open once again. There stood a silver blonde sixth year with a green and silver badge on his chest, next to him stood two enormous troll-like boys with fists like hams and square set jaws. He was Draco Malfoy, Harry's rival at Hogwarts. "Well, well, Potty's playing with first years." Crabbe and Goyle, his two crones, snickered and cracked their knuckles menacingly.  
  
Selene stood up and stretched her hand out kindly to Malfoy, "I'm Selene Artemis."  
  
Malfoy refused her hand and she allowed it to fall limply to her side, raising an eyebrow at him. "I'm Draco Malfoy, and this is Crabbe and Goyle. Let me be the one to let you know, Potter there is an attention seeker, Weasley, he's the poorest wizard there is, if you could call him a wizard, Longbottom is a clumsy oaf, Finnegan and Thomas are, well, I'm not sure what they are, and Granger," he smirked, "is a mudblood." Harry saw Ron form a fist, Harry ground his teeth. Malfoy did this every year; he'd always try to get them worked up when he called Hermione that vulgarity.  
  
Selene smiled slightly, "Draco, you know what a prefix is right?" He nodded unsurely. "Well, 'mud' means dirty, bad, and 'pure' means clean and good. In reality, when you think about it, Hermione, is the pureblood and you," Malfoy narrowed his eyes at her; "you are the mudblood." Selene poked him in the chest on that last word. Crabbe and Goyle looked uneasily at Malfoy, as if trying to ask if it was alright to hit a girl. Malfoy's lip quivered for a moment and he strode out of the room muttering something under his breath, Crabbe and Goyle turned to leave, but Selene stopped them.  
  
"Why are you two going with him?" she asked. They turned around with confused looks plastered on their faces. "Well, he insulted you by assuming you couldn't introduce yourselves." Selene grinned and Harry and Ron exchanged glances, as did Seamus and Dean. Hermione slumped in her chair, and Neville seemed to be sitting on the edge of his seat. Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other, Goyle turned to leave, and Crabbe followed, hissing something in Goyle's ear.  
  
The group played a game of Exploding Snap and then got changed into their school robes. Ron and Hermione had to leave their group for more Prefect duties, Selene wrapped her arms around her legs and stroked the chest of her owl which was perched on her knees, and Harry continued to watch her, until the train slowed to a stop.  
  
They got their things and went to exit the train, Selene's owl had perched itself on her shoulder. He heard Selene gasp as she stepped off the train, "Wow threstrals are neat looking, I've never actually seen one before!" Harry saw the giant shape of Hagrid looming in the rain. Harry put his hat on to prevent his head from getting wet, whereas Selene embraced the rain.  
  
"Selene, go to that big man over there, his name is Hagrid," Harry heard Hermione shout as the rain began to fall harder and louder. Selene sauntered to Hagrid by the edge of the lake.  
  
Harry sprinted with Ron and Hermione to a carriage, Ron and Hermione stared at the threstrals as they scrambled in. They all shook their heads to dry out their hair, but they were too wet for that to work. The carriage began to move, Harry looked out of the window at the lake, where about a hundred lights were gliding across the water. Harry leaned back in his seat, this carriage was taking him where he belonged, it was taking him home. 


	7. Another Year Begins

CHAPTER SEVEN

Another Year Begins

The carriage slowed to a stop at the foot of the giant castle named Hogwarts; Harry, Ron and Hermione clambered out of their transport into the downpour. Harry noticed Ron and Hermione were still sharing at the menacing looking threstrals. "Can you see them?" Harry croaked as he pushed them forward, the warm summer rain pelting his face.

Hermione shook her head sending water in every possible direction, "We can't _see_ them, but the rain kind of makes their shape visible, if you know what I mean." Ron nodded in agreement as he stared at a threstral's draconic head.

They shivered as a blast of cold air hit them when they walked into the school. The Great Hall was much warmer than the entrance hall; candles magically floating over their heads provided a welcoming warmth that filled the room.

_Please let Selene get into Gryffindor,_ Harry thought as he sat down at one of the four long tables designated to each house next to Ron, on whose other side sat Hermione. Before Harry knew it, the Hall became packed with chattering students returning to Hogwarts for another year of creatures, spells, and text books.

The Hall went silent as Professor McGonagall lead in a nervous number of first years and Selene, who was a head taller than all of the eleven-year-olds and was almost as tall as McGonagall herself. Harry watched Selene through McGonagall's annual speech describing the procedure of the Sorting, not paying attention to one word she said. The stern old witch put the tri-legged stool down with a large thunk and opened her mouth to call out the first name on the list, but the hat one the stool objected. Professor McGonagall looked as if she was internally scolding herself for forgetting to let the Sorting Hat sing its song.

The tattered old hat opened its "mouth" and began to sing an eerie song...

"_Last year I told you all_

_To stand together tall,_

_I still stand by what I said_

_Stand each other in good stead._

_I know this little song_

_Isn't very long_

_But I have told you _

_What I meant to._

_Divided by what house you are_

_Can stop this school from going far_

_So whether you're a lion_

_Snake, badger, or raven,_

_Be united, that is all I'm saying."_

Harry glanced at Dumbledore, who seemed amused by the Sorting Hat's lyrics, small white dots from the candle light danced across his smiling sky blue eyes. "Artemis, Selene!" Professor McGonagall called out, and with that, Selene crept up the stairs, her dirty blonde head bobbing, and she sat on the stool. Her knees were at a very high height in comparison to the first years from last year; the stool seemed to grow as it took on her proportions, Harry could hear her soft giggle. A whistle came from behind Harry, he and everyone around him whipped around to see a drenched Seamus with a devilish smile on his face. Harry looked back to Selene to find her grinning and gently waving, her cheeks slightly pink. "Is she waving at us or Seamus?" he hissed in Ron's ear.

"I dunno, mate," he whispered back. Professor McGonagall placed the tattered old Sorting Hat on Selene's wet head. The hat fell over her eyes, a few moments passed; Harry knew the hat was debating over which house to put her in. Harry thought he saw her lips moving a bit, and a split second later, the battered hat announced, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat was removed from her head, she was beaming. Selene quickly went down the stone steps, her wet cloak slapping each one, and sauntered over to Gryffindor table, she slipped into the space between Seamus and Harry as the table applauded.

Harry turned to her and smiled, "Congratulations!" he said as he fought a sudden urge to drape his arm over her shoulders.

"Thanks," Selene replied as the applause died down and a new student was called to be sorted. Harry took this time to scan the staff table. A young man with a brown ponytail sat where Delores Umbridge had sat a year before. He couldn't have been older than Percy Weasley, instead of robes, the man wore a button-down shirt and a brown leather jacket, and he was smiling as he watched the students being sorted. _Maybe he's a student teacher or an assistant,_ Harry thought, _He couldn't _possibly_ be a professor._

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry jumped at the particularly loud proclamation, and heard Selene giggle, Harry sheepishly turned and grinned at her, she returned it. Harry looked at his hand to find it on top of Selene's; Harry felt his face grow hot, he had thought that her hand was a base of a goblet. Harry pulled his hand away and gave a nervous laugh.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Harry jumped again, and laughed with Selene as the applause from Ravenclaw began. Harry looked over at the table to see Cho Chang glaring at him; Harry smiled even broader; Cho turned around abruptly with a huff to talk to Michael Corner.

"Norwich, Blake!"

"They're already on n's?" Harry asked Selene who nodded and watched the little boy intently.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"My man!" Selene exclaimed as the nervous black haired boy with cheeks dappled with freckles sat across from her. She held out her fist to Blake and he tapped it lightly with his own.

"You're man?" Harry asked.

"He's my little buddy. We sat in the same boat when we crossed the lake."

"I almost fell in," Blake squeaked, "Selene saved me." Selene shook her head as she smiled.

The Sorting ended soon after, with Even Zeverdoth being sorted into Slytherin. Dumbledore stood up then, and the room fell silent. His half moon spectacles and silver beard glimmered in the candle light.

"As you heard last June in the papers, Voldemort has indeed returned to power as I had stated after the Triwizard Tournament two years ago. Our newly appointed Minister of Magic, Madame Bones, and I ensure your safety during our school term.

"We consulted each other on the curriculum for this year, and we have decided that every student, including first years, will be taught Defense Against the Dark Arts each day with the exception of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday." A number of students let out groans. Harry couldn't blame them; more classes meant more assignments, which means less sleep and less time for Quidditch, that is, if he was allowed to play. Last year Umbridge had banned him from Quidditch for life because of a provoked attack on Malfoy last year, and Harry didn't know if the punishment had been lifted since she was sacked.

Harry buried his head in his hands as Dumbledore continued his speech., "Now, now, I'm sure you'll enjoy this addition to your schedule for we have a new member on our staff that I'm sure you will take a liking to, may I introduce Drew Helios," Dumbledore began to clap and the rest of the hall followed his lead. The young man flashed a charming smile and waved gently.

"Drew?" Harry glanced at Selene who was beaming as she said the man's name. Why did that name ring a bell? _Selene knows him, that's it! Selene was e-mailing him the other day..._

Dumbledore listed the usual precautions and rules, then clapped his lined hands curtly, food erupted out of the tables. Eager hands groped at the platters and tureens filled with puddings, rolls, and marinated pork. Harry seemed to have blanked out because the next thing her knew, his plate was flooded with food.

Harry began to stuff his mouth with the contents of his plate; he hadn't realized how hungry he had become since their arrival. Harry looked up from his plate to see a scarlet envelope shaking in front of him; he cautiously reached out and snatched it from between two goblets. Harry then quickly slipped out of his seat and sprinted out of the Hall and into the corridor, and he held his breath as he opened the envelope with trembling fingers,

"YOU WILL PAY, POTTER!"

The Howler burst into flames and Harry dropped the smoldering parchment and let it hit the ground, sending embers rolling on the sandstone floor; Harry stepped back into the Hall, Ron's eyebrows shot sky high, and hid in his fiery red hair.

Harry could feel the heat of everyone's eyes on his neck, drilling holes through his skin with their piercing gazes. He slipped into his seat with an air of faux confidence, and continued to wolf down his meal, the silence was broken when the clanking of utensils resumed after he took his first bite, "Did you hear it?" Harry asked through a mouthful of pork.

"Yeah, erm, it was muffled a bit, but I think everyone heard it." Ron shoved a spoonful of pudding into his mouth, as if it would stop him from saying anything else.

"Malfoy began to laugh," Hermione chirped, "so when he wasn't looking a sent a Silencing Charm his way. He still doesn't realize he's mute, though," she laughed, "because Crabbe and Goyle are more confused then ever. I expect he thinks they've become denser over the summer." Harry grinned.

"Do you know who it was from?" Harry asked his best friends.

"Malfoy, Harry, who else?" Hermione stated matter-of-factly, "Didn't you see him send it to you?" Harry shook his head subtly; Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's still angry that you got his dad in Azkaban, he's going to try to get even, if you couldn't figure out what the message meant."

"No need to get snappy, Hermione," Ron said. Hermione scowled at Ron and decided to focus on her meal meanwhile Ron's ears began to grow red.

Harry looked to his other side to see Selene teaching the Norwich boy how to make things levitate, Seamus was watching dreamily. A surge of jealousy spread through Harry like warmth from a sip of butterbeer. He found rivalry in Seamus now, for it seemed to Harry that Seamus had a thing for Selene; Harry couldn't allow that.

Harry scowled and turned his focus to Dean whose arm was wrapped around Ginny; Harry swerved his gaze to Neville who was glaring at Dean. Harry lost interest in observing other people, and decided to focus on his food.

Before long they left the Great Hall, the entire Gryffindor table followed the two seventh year prefects of their house to the seventh floor. The prefects announced that the password to get into the Gryffindor common room was "grindylow." The portrait of the Fat Lady dressed in pink swung open and they all clambered through the portrait hole and into the common room.

Harry flung himself into one of the squishy velvet armchairs by the fire, his robes dried completely in a in a matter f moments from the warmth of the fire and the chair. Harry rubbed his eyes as Selene settled herself into the chair opposite Harry and curled herself into a ball, as she transformed, Blake Norwich sat right next to her on the floor and stared into the flames absentmindedly stroking the fur on Selene's tail.

Harry almost leapt out of his seat when Katie Bell, the only remaining Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, barked his name. "Harry! I'm the Captain for this year!"

"That's great, Katie," Harry said half heartedly.

"You didn't let me finish," she said as she pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail. "I'm putting you back in as Seeker, you're allowed to play again," a huge grin crept up his face, "but, you _must_ not get in trouble! Please, Harry?"

"I won't get in trouble," Harry said, a little offended that Katie made it seem like he tried to get in trouble.

"That Howler wasn't all too convin-"

"Well, I'm not in trouble, and I won't be in the future." Harry crossed his arms as Katie put her hands on her hips. "When are you holding tryouts for the rest of the team, Harry continued as he pointed to the white ball of fur in the other armchair, "because Selene over th-"

"This Friday seven o'clock. Don't be late!" and with that, Katie spun around and sprinted up to the girls' dormitory. Harry sighed a breath of content as he let his hand fall limp and stared into the bright orange flames licking at the fire grate and dancing about under the hearth.

"Come on, Selene," Hermione said roughly, Harry closed his eyes, he needed to relax and clear his mind, he now understood that Occlumency was very important, but what he didn't understand was why Hermione seemed to dislike Selene so much. Harry heard nails click against stone and heard Blake get up and cross to the boys' dormitories. Harry was left alone to his thought in the musty common room.

After a few short minutes of being alone Harry decided to go to his room, maybe he could talk to Ron or the other boys or just listen to something other than the popping of crisp wood.

"What did you do?!"

"I-it was squeaking I-I thought it might want some food." Harry pushed open the door to find Neville wringing bloody hands and the ebon's empty cage on the floor.

"What happened?" Harry seemed to have been asking this question often lately, not just to his peers and elders, but to himself as well, especially when he thinks of what happened in the Department of Mysteries.

"I, er, accidentally let it out, I-I'm sorry, Harry! It m-melted into the shadows," a pink faced Neville stammered, as he pointed to a dark corner of the room where Dean knelt examining a spot on the floor. "I-it attacked me, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Neville, I wasn't attached to the bird, but are you okay?" Harry felt guilty of his reckless pet, so he pulled out his wand and bandaged Neville's fingers. "Don't worry about it." They crawled into bed Harry, didn't change out of his robes, he was too tired. Truth be told, Harry was almost happy that the ebon was gone, although it was a gift from Hagrid, it did nothing but cause pain and screech.

Harry tossed and turned in his sleep as he dreamt of the ebon soaring through the clouds with its talons sinking into Ron's skull, as it took him into the shadowy graveyard where Voldemort had been reborn.

Dawn spilled onto Harry's bed sheets through the part in his four-poster curtains; Harry rolled off his bed, crawled to his trunk and ripped some clean robes out of it. _What had the dream meant? Did it mean anything?_ Harry dressed as these thoughts flew through his head.

Ron seemed perfectly fine at breakfast when they were writing which classes they wanted to take as Professor McGonagall instructed. She swept down Gryffindor, pointing her wand at each note, and stopped as she looked at Harry's note, "Remember what I said, Potter, you really need to work hard in your classes to get what you want." Harry nodded, and Professor McGonagall magically turned his note into a schedule. He had the subject he loved most first, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"What do you have?" Ron asked, as he snatched Harry's schedule from Harry's hands. Ron's eyes flew over the paper; he sighed and handed it back to Harry. "You and I only have Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration together." Harry took Ron's schedule from him. It was true three out of five classes; usually he and Ron had been in every class together for the past five years.

Harry shrugged and he, Ron and Hermione walked to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Ron and Hermione sat together in the back, and Harry slid into the empty seat in front of them. A chart of the moon cycle was drawn on the blackboard, and the thought that he was in the wrong room came upon Harry because moon charts are studied in Astronomy, but then Selene and Drew Helios sauntered into the room chatting about something Harry could not hear. The man jogged to the front of the room.

"Harry, is this seat open?" Harry shook his head and Selene slid onto the bench, and accidentally bumped into Harry who felt his face grow hot, "Sorry," she giggled as she moved over a bit to give Harry room to move.

"Hello class. Boy that sounds weird," Helios said, as the room grew silent. "Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. You may call me Drew or Helios; 'Professor' just hasn't sunk in yit." A few Ravenclaw girls in the front row giggled, Selene rolled her eyes.

"How about Doobles?" Selene shouted. Harry looked back at his other friends; Hermione made a face like she thought Selene was an idiot, Ron was just confused.

Drew laughed, "You can call me whatever Wolf Girl back there calls me, too." He pulled out his wand and conjured a floating diagram of a man.

"Our first thang in the lesson plan is werewolves. Anybody know some random facts they'd like ter share with us?" His rich Dixie accent floated through the air to Harry's ears. Harry felt a tiny gust of wind ruffle his hair as Hermione shot her hand up in the air, as did Selene.

"Yes er-"

"Hermione Granger."

"Alright, Hermione,"

"Werewolves are hard to tell from regular wolves, the only way you can determine them is by knowing the differences between them. For instance, werewolves' eyes are more humane; the eyes are larger. Their skulls are rounder than a wolf's, their tails hardly ever move, the ears aren't placed exactly on top of their heads like a wolf's, and the fifth phalange on each front paw is longer than wolves'."

"That's right. Fahve points to Gryffindor. For this week we are going to examine the body structure of werewolves." Harry watched as the graphic morphed into a wolf.

"Do ya'll know the Protean Charm yit?" Drew asked as he slumped into a chair next to Hanna Abbott of Hufflepuff. Everyone except for Selene and Hermione shook their heads. "Well, I guess you'll have ter pay attenshin, 'cause Ah'm not goin' ter say this agin, nor do I feel like performing thirty somethin' of 'em..."

Harry watched the graphic spin and move as Drew went through his lesson, joking along with them as the time passed.


End file.
